


Forlæte - The Surrender

by Gbean



Series: Draka [1]
Category: Merlin (TV), Merlin - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Space, Bonding, Dragon Arthur, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Loss of Control, M/M, Minor Character Death, Powerful Merlin, Prince Merlin, Protective Arthur, Rituals, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Sexual Content, Shapeshifter Arthur, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-15
Updated: 2013-10-24
Packaged: 2017-12-29 11:58:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1005157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gbean/pseuds/Gbean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur and Merlin are princes of two opposing races due to a conflict that started with their parents and plunged the planet into a brutal civil war. Arthur belongs to an ancient race of dragon shapeshifters. Merlin is the most powerful sorcerer to ever live. Arthur and Merlin are placed into an arranged bonding with hopes that it will bring peace to their nations. The bond between a shapeshifter and a sorcerer is an ancient ceremony to keep the sorcerer's magic from flaring out of control. Is Arthur strong enough to keep Merlin's magic from consuming him? Will the two men give into their feelings for one another?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ealdor

**Author's Note:**

> Old Religion Scale of levels of magic: White/ yellow/ orange/ green/ blue/ purple/ brown/ red/ black/ silver/ gold

Merlin stared out his third floor window across the desert sands of his home world Draka. The palace sat atop a plateau, providing a view that seemed to stretch forever across the red-yellow plains. His life had been building towards this day for as long as he could remember. Everything would change tonight with the ceremony.

He didn't feel any different now being twenty-one than he had the day before as twenty. Life still moved ahead at the same pace. He didn't look any older - he still looked too young for his age with his bright eyes and fair unmarked skin. But the hustle and bustle around the palace proved that it was indeed his twenty-first birthday and tonight he would finally cross the line into adulthood.

"Drakarini Emrys," a voice called from behind him - his good friend Will - "you're expected at the baths to prepare." 

Merlin took a deep breath and turned from the window. "I thought you said you would never call me that," Merlin said with a smile.

"I did. But then my mum got onto me and said that if I didn't address you by your proper title today then she would whoop me into next week." Will's mother was Matron of the palace, in charge of all the servants and staff.

Merlin grinned. "I suppose if your mother had threatened me, I would be properly scared too. Your mother is fierce."

"She is half Drakan. Those roots shine through whenever she gets angry." 

Merlin scowled at the reminder of the second race inhabiting their planet, the Drakan - a race of shape shifting people, half man and half dragon. The Drakan royal party were arriving later that day. And thinking about the Drakan reminded him of one of the ceremonies later that evening.

Will noticed the frown. "Cheer up, Merlin. He can't be that bad. And if he is a royal prat, you can come back home and live with me and Perce." Will spoke of his bonded Drakan - a giant man named Percival who shifted into an even larger blue dragon. Will had been bonded two years before after his twenty-first birthday. Will and Perce were rare - there were not too many young bonded Drakarin and Drakan pairs these days. Not since Uther had forbidden any bondings - creating a forced exile for any Drakan who chose to go through the bonding ceremony and penalty of death upon return. "I'm sure Perce wouldn't mind sharing," Will said with a flirtatious smile. 

Merlin's frown deepened. "You know I can't do that. I have to make this work. The future of the Drakarin depends on me."

Will sighed heavily, "Then we better hope that you get along better now than you did when you two were eight."

Merlin winced at the reminder. The last time he had met the prince of the Drakan people, Arturo Pendrakan - commonly called Arthur, they had fought tooth and nail with each other. It was unfortunate for Merlin and Arthur that meeting was when their fathers arranged the bonding between them. 

That visit had been a milestone between the two races since war broke out between them twenty-two years ago. Uthuro Pendrakan - Uther - declared war on the Drakarin people after he blamed the death of his wife, the Drakan Queen Ygraine, on his bondmate Nimueh. Nimueh had fled the Drakan city, Camelot. After Nimueh revealed the story to Merlin's father, Drakari Balinor, Balinor requested his bondmate Kilgarrah to go to Camelot to reason with Uther. Instead Uther imprisoned the golden Kilgarrah upon arrival. Balinor could not let the insult go and when Uther refused to release his bondmate, Kilgarrah, a war had broken between the two races. Bonded pairs were split apart. Families ruined. The planet was devastated by the civil war between the two peoples. A tentative peace had existed since the treaty thirteen years ago calling for the princes of both races to become bonded when Merlin reached twenty-one years of age.

Draka was planet 5-ram-K in the Solum system of the  Daesum galaxy. It was a small planet with a big presence. Bonded pairs made a fearsome addition to any intergalactic fleet. But the war ended much of the notoriety of Draka. With the beginning of the civil war, Draka was moved onto the list of Class 5 planets - global war. Tourism to the planet stopped, all military conscriptions were suspended, and any military personnel who had been serving at the time were returned to their home planet. Since the treaty, Draka had moved up to a Class 3 - political instability.

The hope was that with the bonding ceremony, friendly relations would be reestablished between the two nations. It was imperative that Uther legalize the bonding ceremony in order for the Drakarin race to continue. Merlin's people, the Drakarin, were a fierce race of sorcerers. People with little power had no need for the bond, but those with great magical power relied on the bond to keep them grounded whenever the magic threatened to spin them out of control. Magical ability continued to grow until a Drakarin reached twenty-one years. At that point, the magic became unstable unless a bondmate was there to harness it. The Drakan race could absorb excess magic without harm and the more magic the Drakans absorbed from their bondmate, the stronger they became in their dragon form. 

With the ban on bondings, the Drakarin people saw many children reach their twenty-first birthday only to be consumed by their magic. The bond was spiritual in nature, and many Drakan felt their true bonded in pain and left Camelot to create the bond anyway. Perce and Will were such a pair. Perce had felt Will calling for him even when they were unbonded and came to Will's rescue, knowing that he might not ever be able to return to his home.

Every Drakarin with a magical power level greater than blue on the Old Religion Scale was said to have a destined bondmate. Sometimes bondmates became lovers and sometimes they were great friends. An arranged bonding like the one Merlin was about to undergo was unheard of. It was said that if the bond did not take between both members, then both would die from the pain of the false bond. But such an occurrence had not been witnessed in recorded history. It was commoner gossip that he shouldn't listen to, Merlin had been told by several of his magisters, teachers of the magical arts and sciences. The people understood the necessity of the arrangement and Merlin had received many well-wishes over the past month. Perhaps Merlin wasn't worried about death, but Merlin worried about what would happen if his true bondmate appeared after the ceremony - because with the resentment Arthur and Merlin had felt towards each other before, there was no way that Arthur was his true bonded.

Merlin's eyes traced Will's bond mark on his hand sadly - it was a small blue dragon, no bigger than the size of a quarter on the back of his hand. The bond mark came as the result of a true bond. The color matched the bonded Drakan's scales and the size of the mark was for the strength of the bond, usually determined by the level of magic each held. The largest bond mark Merlin had seen was his father's - which was a dragon wrapped around his upper arm - several inches thick. Merlin doubted he would ever have such a mark. 

"Alright, let's go to the bathhouse," Merlin said and headed out the door with Will following.

 

* * *

 

Balinor watched the party from Camelot approach over the desert. They were still a ways off - it would be several more hours before they reached the gate. The dust kicked up by their hover vehicles could be seen leagues away from the Drakarin palace. Tonight he would see his bondmate for the first time in two decades. The separation had worn on both Balinor and Kilgarrah. Kilgarrah had been forced to absorb Balinor's magic over the distance whenever it flared up. Such a distance had taken a heavy toll on the Drakan. Balinor himself had experienced longer periods of pain when his magic flared because it took longer for the magic to calm done when absorbed through the bond over a distance. Balinor knew the palace gossip - he hadn't been the same man he was before Uther tricked Kilgarrah. He was more bitter and lonely. The only lights in his life were his wife and son. 

Hunith came up behind him and laid her hand gently on his, which had been rubbing the golden bondmark on his bicep absentmindedly. "It's alright," she said, "Merlin and Arthur were made for each other. They just don't realize it yet. And you'll see Kilgarrah soon enough, so stop moping."

Balinor turned and enfolded Hunith into his arms. It had been an oddity when Balinor had married Hunith - an unbonded Drakarin of only white level, the lowest level of magic. His councilors had protested for months up to the wedding, citing that he would dilute the power of his family's ancient Drakarlord bloodline.  And then Merlin had come along and all protests were shot to the ground. It was widely known that Merlin was the strongest Drakarin alive - and possibly the most powerful ever. Until his twenty-first birthday it was impossible to say for sure what his exact skill level was, but Balinor suspected that his son had passed black, silver, and gold long ago and was now in unexplored levels of power.

Merlin's power had presented a dilemma for Balinor. His son had so much power that if it went out of control, Merlin presented a risk to the whole city and possibly even the planet. Knowing this, Balinor knew that he had to make every effort to ensure that Merlin would have a bondmate as soon as he came of age. And not any Drakan would do - it would have to be a powerful bloodline to be able to absorb all of Merlin's excess energy. 

With Uther's ban of bonding, the chances of any high bloodline Drakan willing to risk defying the king by bonding to a member of the opposing royal family - well, Balinor knew they had been slim at best. With this in mind, he had fought hard for peace between the two nations and proposed the bonding between their sons as a peace agreement. The Pendrakan line was the strongest and if anyone could hold Merlin's excess magic, it would be that bloodline - true bonded or not. 

Hunith firmly believed that the two boys were made for each other - despite the bickering, hair-pulling, and biting the two boys had done when they were young. Balinor had frowned in hopelessness at the two boys screaming at each other across the yard, never believing that it would work out, but Hunith hugged him from behind and chuckled, "Look at them. Two sides of the same coin." And from then on, Balinor believed it and nothing his son said during his rants could sway the Drakarin from his position. 

Merlin received even less sympathy from his mother, who firmly supported the bonding. Her only problem with the treaty was that Merlin was required to go to Camelot to live as a sign of goodwill. Here in the Drakarin city of Ealdor, there were plenty of magisters to help guide Merlin's budding powers. In Camelot, he would be on his own. While Hunith was not concerned about the bonding ceremony this evening, she could not dismiss her anxiety over the coming-of-age ceremony before - Arisan - the Rising, where Merlin's true level colors would be revealed. It wasn't common, but a Drakarin could be consumed by their magic during the Arisan. Mastery of their color level was proved when a student completed Arisan without being consumed by the magic. The bonding ceremony - Forlæte - the Surrender - would follow after, and at that point, Hunith knew she would no longer need to fear losing her son. 

At birth, seven magical seals were placed on every Drakarin child. The seals were meant to provide control and containment of the child's powers until the twenty-first birthday when the child came of age and the seals were removed during Arisan. Balinor and Hunith first realized that Merlin was extremely powerful when his magic broke through three of the seals while still in his cradle - the seals on each hand and one foot. Drakarin children did not even show signs of powers until puberty - Merlin proved to be the exception. The second foot followed when Merlin took his first steps not a year later. The fifth seal on his forehead was broken when Merlin mastered the Old Religion language at ten years. And though Merlin refused to speak to his parents about it - they were told anyway by Merlin's magisters - the sixth seal was overpowered when Merlin first had sex at seventeen years.

The seventh and final seal on Merlin's heart had yet to be broken, for which Hunith was grateful. It was rare for any of the seals to be broken, and for one of the main three - forehead, groin, heart - to be broken before Arisan had never been done before Merlin. 

 

* * *

 

Merlin rose from the steaming water in the royal bathhouse. The water slid of his body in sheets and the drops rolled down his arms to fall into the pool from his fingers. Ealdor sat on a large oasis in the desert, providing ample water for the needs of the people. It was easy to keep the water heated in the bathhouses by magic. Merlin had relaxed in the warmth, letting the tension and worries about the coming evening flow away with the water. 

As he stood, a thick robe was wrapped around his shoulders and tied off with deft hands by one of the bathhouse attendants. Merlin stepped out of the pool and followed the attendant quietly to the next room where he would prepare for the ceremony. Since the final seal that needed to be broken was on his chest, Merlin would be bare-chested for the ceremony. He was grateful that he did not have to suffer through being completely naked as other Drakarin were during the Arisan. Merlin dressed in the ceremonial white flowing pants. The pants were loose, soft and comfortable. He sat down as the attendants messaged oils into his upper body. He caught Will grinning at him from the corner of the room and frowned. Merlin would have made a snide comment, but he was not supposed to speak until the ceremony began.  

Merlin could smell the mixture of rosemary and sage in the oils and crinkled his nose slightly at the cloying smell. Finally, a small amount of oil was placed over his heart. Merlin muffled a surprised gasp as his skin heated and the seal became visible. A shimmering triskelion - it seemed to fade in and out as light flickered across it. Merlin donned a white tunic robe, plain except for a small bird embroidered into the left breast. His mother had carefully embroidered the robe for his ceremony over the past few months. The robe was tied in front by a simple white belt. Every child entered the Arisan ceremony wearing white, the color of innocence and the lowest level of magic. 

Merlin followed Will to the temple next to the palace. He could hear voices ahead of him, but as he drew closer, the people quieted and bowed respectfully. The silence followed him until he was out of hearing range. The temple was actually the highest point of the city, up a flight of stairs carved into the sandy rock. It was a large open-air building, with a domed roof overhead. Will and Merlin passed into the temple and all sound seemed to fade. Will stopped before reaching the inner pavilion of the temple and Merlin was left to continue on his own. The inner pavilion was not a private area - the sides were still open and anyone could look in as the boundary was marked only by a ring of pillars, but no one was supposed to pass the boundary without permission. Merlin knelt, knees tucked, sitting on his feet with his hands resting on his legs. He took a few relaxing breaths and began to meditate.

 

* * *

 

Arthur Pendrakan entered the desert city of Ealdor with wide eyes. He knew he had been to the city before, but he'd been much younger and did not remember much of the trip besides a wide goofy face with dazzling blue eyes and even goofier ears. He had long been taught the necessity of the bonding with the Drakarin prince and more than anything he prayed that the bonding would hold. Ealdor surprised him after days of traveling through the barren desert. The city had lush green vegetation beside the sandy stone buildings, a stark difference from the unchanging landscape before. The Drakarin lands were so different from Camelot in the north, where thick green forests and hills surrounded the city with the ocean not too far away. 

Palm trees lined the path up the plateau hill to the palace rising at the top - a vision of white sand stone with domed towers rising into peaks. Big open balconies - large enough to support and admit a Drakan in second form - could be seen in the side of the palace with large white keyhole openings into the palace. No doors or windows were on any of the palace openings. Arthur remembered studying the Drakarin people and architecture. He had asked his tutor why anyone would live without a door or window to keep out the storms and cold. When his tutor spoke of a place with no rain storms that was always warm, Arthur had been astonished. When he had learned of desert sandstorms, he returned to his tutor with the same question. "The Drakarin people use magic to keep the sandstorms away from their city."

Magic. It was a slightly foreign concept to him that someone could grasp the power and force it to do something at will. Arthur's experience with magic was limited. He knew his own form of magic that gave him the ability to shift into his dragon form. And he had practiced with a Drakan tutor many times to learn how to absorb magic. But he didn't understand how the Drakan people could use it in such unlimited ways. To be able to hold off storms? He wished he could do that with Camelot. Sometimes it would rain for days until he forgot what dry earth felt like below his feet and everything he owned was slightly soggy. 

Arthur shook himself from his thoughts as the caravan entered the palace courtyard. The Drakarin court was assembled around the edges of the courtyard. In front of the palace main entrance stood the king and queen, Drakarin Balinor and Drakareen Hunith. Arthur looked around for the goofy face he remembered so clearly, and frowned slightly when he didn't see his intended bondmate. Not a good sign when one's future bondmate couldn't spare a few minutes to greet him properly. Uther exited the hover vehicle when the driver opened the door and Arthur followed suit to stand beside his father. The nobles around the courtyard bowed to the Drakan king as he stepped forward. Balinor and Hunith remained standing and stepped forward. "King Uthuro Pendrakan, it is good to see you once more on such a momentous occasion. Our people have looked forward to this binding of our nations for many years," Balinor said in a voice that carried clearly across the courtyard. 

Uther nodded and formally responded, "I am pleased to see peace between our nations. Allow me to present my son, Arturo Pendrakan, Crown Prince of Camelot." Arthur bowed respectfully to the royal Drakarin. Uther looked around curiously, noticing the absence of a key figure. 

"I apologize that my son, Drakarini Emrys, is not able to attend. He is currently in meditation for the Arisan ceremony this evening," Balinor explained. 

Uther's face cleared with understanding. "May the gods guide him," Uther stated in the traditional Drakarin blessing.

"And wisdom shape his path," Balinor and Hunith answered in response. Though Arthur had studied the Drakarin culture, he realized that he still had much to learn. The Arisan ceremony, Arthur recalled, was the coming of age ritual at age twenty-one. Something about releasing magical bonds. He probably slept through the rest of that lesson. 

"When will the ceremony take place?" Uther asked as they entered the palace.

"The Arisan ceremony will be at six and the Forlæte will follow. A feast has been prepared for after the ceremonies," Hunith answered. Seeing Arthur's confused expression, Hunith smiled and said, "The Forlæte is the bonding ceremony."

Arthur face cleared in understanding and thanked Hunith. 

"We've prepared light refreshments for your party in the dining hall if you are so inclined," Balinor offered as he led them and the Drakan company into the dining hall.

As Arthur dug into the unfamiliar fruits, his thoughts wandered back to Merlin. "May I see Merlin before the ceremony?" Arthur asked, even though he knew the answer was most likely 'no.' His father frowned at him for what Uther considered a stupid question.

Balinor surprised them. "Of course you may go see him. He is meditating for peace of mind to endure the Arisan tonight. I would ask that you don't disturb him. I will have someone show you the way."

Arthur followed the servant out of a side door of the palace through a garden. The servant stopped beside a large bush of white flowers. Arthur was about to protest - he wasn't there to smell the flowers - when the servant explained in a quiet voice as he clipped off two flowers and handed one over to Arthur. 

"Your highness, a visitor to a student about to enter the Arisan always presents an offering of a gardenia flower. The flowers are supposed to bring peace and health and aid in the meditation process."

Arthur nodded as he took the flower. The servant led him out of the garden to a large sandy stone courtyard. The palace was on one side and on the other side was a series of steps up to a domed building. A line of people queued up one side of the steps, families and individuals, all holding pure white gardenia flowers. Despite the number of people massed in the courtyard and on the steps, the area was significantly quiet. Arthur almost felt as if he was breathing too loud. The servant ignored the line and led him up the steps to the temple. The servant removed his shoes and Arthur followed suit before entering the stone structure. The air in the temple was fragrant, full of the perfume of the hundreds of gardenia flowers piled around a central circle of stone pillars. Arthur supposed that this was the same area where tonight he would be bonded to the man kneeling quietly in the center. Arthur watched several of the visitor pause and bow to the figure in the inner circle before setting down their flower and leaving. A few kneeled quietly, offering their prayers silently for the man.

Arthur finally turned his attention to the prince sitting meditatively in the inner area of the temple. And his breath was stolen. He had to consciously take small breaths in order to prevent a loud gasping breath that would have broken the silence of the temple. No longer the goofy-faced boy of years before, Merlin had grown into a beautiful man. His cheeks were chiseled porcelain skin running into smooth red lips and his raven black hair fell gracefully across his forehead. Long thin fingers rested on his legs. Merlin was so still it was like looking at a masterpiece of art - a beautiful marble statue - kneeling in the center of the temple. Arthur slowly walked around the circle to see Merlin from the front. He grinned slightly when he saw that Merlin's ears were still too big for his head, but it did nothing to detract from the beauty of the man before him. 

Merlin sat straight with his head facing forward, his eyes gently closed as if he were sleeping. Arthur wished he could see those thick black eyelashes rimming those piercing blue eyes he remembered. Arthur offered a silent well-wish and step forward to lay the gardenia at the edge of the circle in front of Merlin. As he set down the flower, Merlin's eyes opened to stare straight into his own for a split second before Merlin's eyelids slid back to cover the bright blue. Arthur was shocked into stillness for a few seconds, afraid he had done something wrong until he noticed the faint upturn of Merlin's lips hinting at a smile. Satisfied that he not done anything wrong, Arthur stepped back from the circle and exited the temple quietly with the servant who had waited for him.

The muffled steps of the hundreds of visitors from the city had done little to disturb Merlin's meditation. He had mastered the art of meditation a long time ago - to draw deep into and yet away from himself. He could faintly smell the flowers in the temple, but his senses were mostly quiescent as he meditated, slipping away from where his body actually sat in the temple. It had taken a while for Merlin to separate himself from his worries about the bonding ceremony that evening and focus solely on himself and his magic. He had reached a zen state of peace, not even the occasional cough or sneeze from the well-wishers bothered him at this point - until _he_ walked into the room. The presence was massive, Merlin could feel the man moving around him and knew when the man stopped in front of him. He was undeniably drawn to the mystery man, his magic was even gravitating towards the man, a steady pull that forced Merlin to take a deeper breath to reestablish control. When the man stepped forward to lay down his flower, Merlin couldn't resist anymore. He had to know who this man was that his soul recognized even when though his mind did not know. His eyes slid open and he found himself looking into the crystal blue eyes of the golden-haired prince, Arthur Pendrakan. Merlin quickly slid his eyes back shut and struggled to return to his state of meditation until Arthur left the temple. He couldn't stop the faint smile gracing his lips that maybe the bonding wasn't so wrong after all.

 

* * *

 

Balinor paced his room after the refreshments had ended. 

"Honey, you'll wear a hole in the floor," Hunith admonished. 

"He wasn't there. Kilgarrah wasn't in the caravan!" 

"Balinor, calm down. I'm sure after the bonding is complete, Uther will allow Kilgarrah to return. He probably knew that once he brought the two of you together, there was no way he could separate you again. Uther's being the shrewd, cautious man we knew he was. You must calm down."

"I can't calm down!" Balinor shouted. 

Hunith marched up to her husband and shoved him back into a chair, effectively ending his pacing. "You listen to me, Balinor Drakarin. My son - our son - is about to go through the biggest ordeal of his life. He knows you Balinor. He can recognize your emotions and if he realizes you are worried, what do you think that will do to him?"

Balinor sighed heavily and nodded his agreement. 

"We can't distract him right now. His magic is too powerful, too temperamental at this stage. And I would do anything to save him from burning if that power consumes him, but the only thing I can do is control my emotions. And by the gods, I'm going to be the most calm, loving parent in that temple tonight that I can possibly be and I need you to be there with me." 

Balinor clenched his eyes shut and counted backwards from ten, the most basic meditative method. "I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely. 

"Shh," Hunith said as she kissed him gently on the lips. "Sadness isn't good either." 'Hunith turned his face to look at her. "If our son can find a way to meditate for four hours for the ceremony, I think we can spare fifteen minutes of meditation before getting ready." Balinor chuckled and buried his face in the side of her neck as she sat on his lap. 

 

* * *

Merlin was deep into his meditation, so far removed from his physical body that he didn't notice the changes in the temple around him. As the Drakarin prince meditated, the temple filled quietly with people. Balinor and Hunith took their place at the front of the assembly in the temple, behind Merlin. Nobles and important guests of Merlin filled in the temple behind the royal couple. The courtyard below was lined with the Drakarin people from their city all arriving to celebrate the coming of age of their prince and his upcoming bonding ceremony.

Merlin felt the arrival of that same presence again - _Arthur_. He felt his spirit rise from that deep meditative place as his magic was pulled toward the Drakan.  As he rose out of his meditation, Merlin struggled to maintain control of the magic welling inside him. This was not a good start to the Arisan - the thought flickered through his brain and he yanked the magic back to him, trapping it as if it were a smooth orb inside him, not allowing its usually amorphous shape. The rush of thoughts had pulled his awareness back to his body and he was ready for the hand that settled on his shoulder. 

Arthur watched the priests prepare for the ceremony around Merlin, who remained silent and unmoving throughout. Somewhere in the course of his meditation, Merlin's head sunk into a bow. When the priest, dressed in a long light blue robe, finally rested a hand on Merlin's shoulder, Arthur was ready for the ceremony to get started. It was a few moments after the priest settled his hand on Merlin's shoulder before his head rose and his eyes opened. The crowd around Merlin tensed nervously. Arthur noticed the faint tensing of the queen's shoulders in front of him. 

"What's wrong?" He asked in a low whisper to the man beside him. He wasn't the only one whispering quietly. 

"It's too fast," the man responded in the same hushed faint voice. "He rose from the meditation too fast."

"That's a problem?"

"It means his meditation was not complete. He may not be in control. And if he's not in control..." The man's voice faded out. 

Arthur did know what happened if control was not maintained. He had heard about it several times that afternoon, always from people worried for their prince. His magic is too strong, they said, he won't be able to contain it, control it. He'll burn. Arthur felt his heart clench at the thought of Merlin burning, consumed by the power inside him. 

Merlin heard the whispers around him and struggled to ignore the voices as he fought for control, but the magic was slipping through his fingers. And that was when a deep voice in front of him said, "Arisan."

No, no, no. He wasn't ready. It was all wrong. He needed more time. Merlin's heart stuttered in fear. He knew what happened at this point, but there was no going back. The ceremony had started - the first of the ancient spell already provoked. 

Merlin rose to his feet in front of the high priest. Two acolytes moved around him and removed his shirt. The priests intoned a slow chant, a lament for those who had passed before and a prayer for those to come. Merlin used the time to regain control, forcing his magic back to his rules.

"Eorðe, lyft, fyr, wæter, bebiede þe arisan Emrys Drakarin." 

The head priest placed his hand on the seal on Merlin's chest over his heart. Merlin took a deep breath. The high priest looked into Merlin's eyes in askance and Merlin nodded, in the slightest of movements.

Together the priests chanted, "Alíese."

The pain was immediate. It came from deep in his soul rising through his body, like his blood was boiling. He felt himself fall to his knees but his mind was elsewhere avoiding the pain and his magic seemed to explode through him, relishing the release. At first he whimpered, then it became a low groan, soaring to an all out scream of pain.

Hunith watched in terror as Merlin entered the first stage of the burning process. There was only so far he could go before the human body was pushed beyond repair and the magic destroyed him - either burning his body completely, killing him, or simply leaving him an empty vessel - a thoughtless shell of who he once was. Hunith covered her mouth with her hands.

Arthur was in shock as he watched Merlin's body contort in pain.  From Hunith's reaction and the sudden tears in the eyes of the people around him, this was not how a good Arisan ceremony went. How could these people sit here and watch? Merlin's screaming reached a new level, a high inhuman exclamation of pain and he collapsed on his side, shaking violently. 

From the side, Will turned his face into Perce's chest, unable to watch anymore. Stupid, he thought. What a stupid ceremony. What a terrible way to die. And why did he let his last words to Merlin be some stupid joke and not a plea for the other man to live?

Arthur was moving before he even realized what he was doing. "Merlin!" he screamed as he jumped forward to rush to the young man's aid.

"No!" Balinor grabbed him around the middle holding him back with arms clapped down around Arthur like steel. "Arthur, stop! You can't interfere!" Balinor yelled at him, even as tears ran down the man's face. 

"Like hell! Let me go! Merlin!" Arthur screeched at the seizing figure in the inner temple.

Balinor held onto him through all Arthur's struggles. "He must do this himself," the king explained brokenly as he fought to hold back Arthur. "He'll never be able to control his magic if he doesn't do it now. His life would be one of constant pain and someone would have to draw that energy away - all the time. It's for the best." 

Hunith had sunk to the floor sobbing, a small keening sound of pain leaving her as she watched her only son succumb to the magic. She had been warned, his entire life that this would happen. She never believed them. Merlin was strong, he could fight it. But she had also know as soon as the ceremony had started that her son was in trouble when he had risen from his meditation in less than ten seconds.  

Hunith hid her face as she noticed the priests forming a circle around Merlin. This was the worst part of the ceremony when the magic slipped out of control. Arthur watched in disbelief as the seizures continued violently and when Merlin stopped making noise, even though his body shook, Arthur felt the fight drain out of him and he sagged against Balinor in despair. Balinor held him up, tears streaming now as the man watched his son.

"Eorðe, lyft, fyr, wæter, bebiede þe arisan Emrys Drakarin." 

The priests stepped back as a blaze encompassed the prince's body. An audible groan echoed through the temple. Arthur slid to the ground beside Hunith and stared at the fire disbelievingly. All these years. All those hopes and dreams of the people - both Drakan and Drakarin - gone. 

The fire vanished leaving behind a still body. Merlin was now clothed in a black iridescent material, shimmering all colors of the rainbow. Arthur gasped at the beauty of Merlin even in death. The Drakarin around him gasped that they had never seen such colors before. If Merlin survived, he would have been the greatest sorcerer ever. The people started to turn from the evidence of all their broken hopes, unable to face his lifeless body. 

A deep gasping breath broke through the sad murmurs and sobs of the temple. In the inner temple, Merlin gasped again before turning on his side and retching, completely emptying the contents of his stomach. From the reddish color, Merlin vaguely realized that some blood was in that too. 

The people in the temple paused in shock. Surely he had been dead. They had watched him burn in the magical fires of the Arisan. Nobody was alive after the magic burned from their body. The priests were obviously astounded as well and were uncertain as to what to do next. The high priest recovered first and moved towards the trembling prince. The other priests followed and stepped forward. 

"Arisan, Emrys Drakarin." 

Merlin rolled slowly onto his hands and knees. He reached a trembling hand up and the priests on either side of him rushed in to grasp him by the arms, stabilizing him as he found his feet. Merlin looked over the stunned assembly and grinned faintly. He did it. The ordeal was over, but the ceremony was not quite complete yet, he reminded himself as he spotted Arthur beside his mother. 

Taking a deep breath, Merlin cited the traditional ceremonial response, "þæt ic þonne wile great wundorcræft þone ic þe on þissum lænum lif þe geholian wæs." _When I bound that power, I obtained this great gift in life._ Never had those words been truer. His voice was hoarse and cracked on the words, but when he finished speaking a cheer rose from the audience and Merlin smiled in relief. 

As he was escorted - well, carried from the temple to the palace. He could hear the celebration of the people rising from the streets through the open windows of the palace and sighed happily from where he was resting on a lounge chair. He still wasn't sure what happened. He remembered the pain, oh how he recalled it - especially with the small tremors that still racked his body from the abused muscles. 

It had been decided that the bonding ceremony would be delayed two hours in order to provide Merlin time to recover. They had carried him into his rooms and laid him on his couch before disappearing. It didn't take much time before he drifted to sleep. 

Merlin woke up later to the feel of callused hands examining his body for injuries as the familiar voice of Alice, the palace healer spoke spells to heal his body. Gaius, court physician and the owner of the rough hands, stood up saying, "There are no more actual injuries. He's simply worn out. I can give him an energy tonic, but he needs rest to recover, your majesties."

"Give him the tonic," Balinor said gruffly, "We have to do the bonding ceremony tonight, or we risk him having another episode so shortly after the first when he's too tired to control his magic by himself." 

Merlin flickered his eyes open to look around the room. "Oh good!" Gaius exclaimed, "You're awake. Take this." Gaius shoved a small bottle into Merlin's hands, before helping Merlin sit up slightly as Merlin took the tonic without hesitation. 

"Ugh, that is foul," Merlin said hoarsely. 

"Oh," Alice exclaimed worriedly, "I forgot about your voice box. One minute." A minute twenty seconds later, Alice finished reciting the spell and looked at Merlin for verification.

"Better," Merlin said in a smooth voice. Merlin let his eyes drift close as he laid on the couch. The voices of his family and friends rolled over him, but he didn't pay much attention to what they were actually speaking about. 

The door was thrown open with a sudden bang, "Where is he?" demanded Will, "Where is that bastard who almost died on me tonight? I'm gonna kill him for making me feel like this."

"Will, I forbid you to kill my son," Hunith ordered wearily.

"But I didn't die," Merlin said smartly. 

"Don't be smartass, Merlin," Will said, the slight trembles in his voice betraying his emotion.

"Will." Merlin couldn't see Will from his position on the couch and raised his hand above the back if the lounge and made a lazy motion with his magic. In an instant, Will was on the couch next to Merlin, hugging him fiercely as he cried into Merlin's shoulder. "What are you going to do when I'm gone?" Merlin asked as Will's sobs subsided.

"There always the chance that he's a prat and you'll come live with me and Perce."

"Doubt it, Will," Merlin admitted, "I think he may be my true bonded." 

Will frowned at him. "You idiot," Will hissed, "Why weren't you meditating properly?" The adults in the room were speaking in soft tones, letting the two young men have their privacy, but paused to listen to the answer of the question they had been burning to ask. Merlin trained for years. He knew how to properly meditate and it had been assumed that it would take a over a minute for Merlin to rise from his meditative state. 

"I was!" Merlin exclaimed sincerely, "I was so deep, I lost track of time and self. But then my magic started pulling me out. I was fighting to bring it back under control when the in ceremony started. It was like a magnet, stretching between me and Arthur. I felt him walk into the temple even when I was so far removed from my own self." Merlin remembered the tugging sensation so vividly it was like it was happening now. A choked sound, followed by hurried footsteps came from the doorway, pulled Merlin from his thoughts. "That was Arthur, wasn't it?" 

"Yeah mate," Will said. "I think he heard all of that."

Merlin groaned and buried his face in a pillow. 

Arthur fled the room in a slight daze of bafflement and panic. It was his fault. Merlin's loss of concentration and control was all his fault. He had unknowingly caused his future bonded so much pain. He didn't stop until he reached his appointed room and collapsed in a chair, which was how the servants found him an hour later when it was time to leave for the bonding ceremony.

Merlin and Arthur entered from opposites sides of the temple. The temple had been cleared of the gardenia flowers that had lined the inner pavilion before. Arthur was dressed in his family colors of red and gold. Merlin looked much better then he had a couple hours before. His face had regained color and he stood without help or trembling. Merlin still wore the iridescent black robes that crackled and shown with color. Later, Merlin knew there would be numerous debates by the magisters and priests over what the colors actually meant, but for now, everyone was focused on the Forlæte. 

Merlin and Arthur stood facing one another as the priest had them grasp hands and he tied their right arms together with a simple white cloth. The priests poured water over their hands and Arthur heard the priests recite a bunch of words he didn't understand. Merlin recognized his confusion and when Merlin mouthed, 'Kneel', Arthur was grateful to him for sparing him humiliation. 

Merlin realized that Arthur didn't understand the language of the Old Religion by his furrowed eyebrows and lost eyes. When the priests finished their prayers of blessing over the bonded pair, Merlin directed Arthur what to do next and the men knelt together, right arms still tied between them. A cup was placed at Merlin's lips and he drank the offered liquid. Arthur mimicked him when the cup was placed at his lips and almost gasped in shock at the explosion if flavor on his tongue from the liquid. When he swallowed the liquid it was as if heat filled his stomach, spreading out to his limbs. Arthur's eyes widened in shock at his body's reaction. Merlin smiled at Arthur's surprised reaction as he held in a chuckle. 

He was so distracted by Arthur's reaction that he almost missed his cue as the priest spoke to him. "...to surrender when all other forces would overwhelm?"

"Ic þe."

The priest recited a different set of vows to Arthur. It wasn't until Arthur looked at Merlin that Arthur understood what was being said. Merlin was reciting the vow for him in the common tongue soundlessly. '...to protect and cherish, accepting surrendered power at all times?'

Arthur wetted his lips with his tongue before stating, "I do," in the common tongue. The priest nodded and stepped out of the inner ring of pillars. Merlin stared directly into Arthur's eyes and uttered a single word, "Forlæte." 

The effect was instantaneous. Arthur could feel the power rise around Merlin like a tidal wave and the Drakarin did nothing to hold it back. Arthur had trained with his mentors about how to make the bond and absorb the power, but he had never felt anything like the mass of energy coming from Merlin. He was like a fucking atomic bomb in a mans body. Arthur's primal reaction was panic and he tried to withdraw his had from Merlin's, but they were tied together and Merlin clenched his hand tighter. Merlin's eyes, now a deep golden color seemed to stare into Arthur's soul as Arthur forced himself to calm down and remember what he had learned about magic absorption. Merlin raised his other hand and held onto Arthur's hand with both hands. 

That was all the encouragement Arthur needed. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and reach out to Merlin, feeling the swirling energy press toward him. He had no idea how Merlin had survived this initially in the Arisan. Arthur threw open his mental barriers and allowed the magic to soak in through his skin. The crowd watched the two men in silence for at least ten minutes as the men knelt together and Arthur dissipated Merlin's energy. Finally, Merlin's eyes faded to blue and Arthur locked eyes with the man. Arthur had never felt so powerful before. The magic was integrating into his muscles and body. The fiery warmth it added to his blood was a pleasant sensation to the half-dragon. Still it was so much. Arthur knew that he would have to shift as soon as the ceremony ended in order to alleviate some of the energy before his blood began boiling as Merlin's had before.

Merlin and Arthur were quiet for a few moments. Arthur leaned forward onto his free arm and took a few deep breaths. "You can do this Arthur," Merlin murmured. Merlin's hands seemed to anchor him as the magic washed through him. 

Arthur vaguely remembered what he was supposed to at this point, though he had never done it before as this was the actual creation of the bond. Taking another deep breath, Arthur pushed - sending the magic back through their connected hands into Merlin. Merlin's eyes instantly flooded with gold and the magic circled between them through their connected hands. The cloth tying their hands together disappeared in a flash of flames. Merlin could feel a burning on his chest and side, the creation of the bond mark. The burn continued until the magic equalized and stabilized between the two of them. 

Merlin collapsed forward into Arthur as the sensation stopped and the magic faded. Arthur's arms instantly enfolded the younger man into an embrace.

"The bond mark," Arthur said quietly as a reminder. Merlin nodded and rose slowly to his feet. Arthur stood with him. Merlin pulled off his shirt and stood directly in front of Arthur. Merlin's bond mark wrapped around Merlin's right side. The head of the red dragon crossed Merlin's chest to rest over his heart. The main body of the dragon was on his side, with the wings stretching to his back. The dragons tail disappeared below Merlin's waistline near Merlin's belly button. Arthur touched the bond mark in awe. It was massive. 

The audience was on Merlin's left and had yet to see the mark, so Merlin turned and raised his right arm to display the mark - proof of the bond. The crowd was awed for a second time that day and cheers rose up from both the Drakan and Drakarin spectators. No one could deny the strength of Merlin and Arthur's bond. 

The crowd started to break apart to head for the feast. Merlin slid his shirt back on and looked at Arthur, "Ready?" 

"Ugh, no," Arthur groaned. "I need to shift and burn some of this magic off." 

Merlin nodded, "Follow me." 

Merlin led Arthur around the side of the palace to a wide open area. Arthur thought that it was perfect for a landing pad and after looking at the lines in the surface, a few deep gouges and surface scratches - decided it probably was a landing pad.

Merlin still stood beside him. "You may want to stand back," Arthur said wryly. 

"Oh! Right," Merlin agreed and moved back.

Arthur waited until Merlin was a safe distance away and thought about opening his wings. For some Drakan it was easier to shift than others. Each Drakan had their own trick to move into their next form - for Arthur, he only had to imagine his wings. He could hear Merlin's gasp as Arthur slid into his second form - a towering, blood red dragon. Some of his people preferred their dragon forms and lived most of their days as the large beast. For Arthur, he relished being able to fly and breath fire, but his primary form was as a man. 

The shift took care of the excess energy that had been broiling under Arthur's skin. He flapped his wings experimentally, stretching them to their full length, before refolding them and shifting back to a man. 

Merlin's face was appreciative at the size and power of his dragon form. It was just as well that Merlin had something to fear about him, Arthur thought, because the depth of Merlin's magic terrified Arthur.

Arthur was magnificent in dragon form. Drakarin magic only increased the strength of a Drakan bonded. Arthur was already large and powerful - Merlin wondered what his magic would do to him. Would Arthur grow even larger? 

"Like what you see?" Arthur asked cockily. 

"I would if you weren't such a clotpole," Merlin retorted on reflex and blushed when he realized what he said. Nothing Arthur had done so far on this trip had implied he was the same snotty, bossy boy Merlin had met thirteen years ago. 

Arthur raised an eyebrow at him. "A clotpole?" He asked incredulous. "That's not a word."

"Isn't there a feast to attend?" Merlin said hastily to cover his embarrassment, "They've been making my favorite dishes all day and I haven't eaten since the preparations for the Arisan began, so I'm famished."

Arthur chuckled and followed the cheerful man to the main dining hall. People rose with applause as they entered and Merlin and Arthur took their place of honor in the center of the head table. Merlin's parents sat to his right and Arthur's father was on his left. With the guests of honor finally in place, the food was served and the feast began.

 

* * *

 

Merlin was barely was able to drag himself out of bed by noon the following day to greet his father's bondmate. It was the first time Merlin had met the Drakan  who arrived in full dragon form, a stunning vision of golden scales and eyes. Kilgarrah had looked down at Merlin in amusement. "How small you are for one with such a large destiny." 

"What do you mean 'small'? You've got a human form too!" Merlin said. 

"And I have not worn it in twenty years and I am not inclined to do so now," the golden dragon said. 

Balinor threw an exasperated glance at Merlin, telling his son to drop the subject. Merlin backed off instantly recognizing the no-nonsense glare that had put him on the recieving end of numerous punishments as a boy. Merlin and Hunith let his father have his moments alone with his bondmate and returned back to the palace. One last look back showed Balinor standing before Kilgarrah, who had lowered his head to Balinor's level. Balinor had one hand resting on Kilgarrah's nose and the two seemed to be communicating silently.

The rest of the day passed in a state of laziness, lounging around the private royal rooms to avoid the heat of the day and fight the lingering headache. Will, Merlin noticed, was completely absent all day - not a surprise at all. What was surprising was that Merlin did not see Arthur at all the day following the feast. Merlin supposed that Arthur's father was calling him to other responsibilities. It didn't stop Merlin from being slightly bitter. Bond mates traditionally spent most of their time together the first week of the bond, exploring the  bond and becoming more familiar with each other.

The second day after the ceremonies, Merlin could swear that he was still full from the feast as he woke up. He rolled over and felt a warm body curled around him. He hummed happily and buried his face into the strong chest. The man chuckled and pushed Merlin off and he moved to get out of the bed. Merlin blinked in surprise, not expecting to be pushed away by the person sharing his bed. His thoughts crashed as he beheld who had been curled around him. "Arthur?" Merlin asked, confused. He must have been drinking the night before - he didn't remember anything happening between Arthur and him. 

Arthur shrugged and pulled on his shirt, "You started to go -" Arthur made an explosive motion with his hands in explanation, "-in the night. It's easier to absorb power when touching you and it took a while for you to come down. I must have fallen asleep." 

Merlin nodded, abashed. "Thank you." He was embarrassed that his mind had jumped to another reason for Arthur to be in his bed and, he was surprised to discover, he was slightly disappointed that Arthur wasn't there for those reasons. Of course Arthur had been there to dissipate the magic - there was no hint of other feelings from Arthur. 

Arthur cleared his throat, feeling slightly awkward, "I'm going to go now." Arthur looked at the lithe sprawled figure on the bed. He could almost swear Merlin seemed disappointed. Arthur couldn't deny that his bondmate was ethereally beautiful. Arthur wasn't sure how a man who grew up in the desert did so and maintained such perfect pale skin. The white skin made the red bond mark stick out like an angry scar. It would look better if it were less red - maybe pink instead - but it was clearly Arthur's deep red that marked the skin. The way Merlin was laying on his stomach with his arm raised up beside his head, Arthur could clearly see most of the dragon except the head and tail. 

He knew that scholars were already debating the size of the mark meant and the strength of Merlin's powers, but Arthur was glad that such discussions had been kept away from the newly bonded pair. Arthur wondered for himself what the massive mark meant about the two of them. If any scholar were to ask, Arthur wouldn't have an answer. Arthur wasn't sure where he and Merlin stood together. The situation was awkward - Arthur barely knew the man and yet last night he had easily crawled into Merlin's bed without hesitating. With one last look, Arthur exited Merlin's rooms. 

Merlin groaned in frustration and buried his head in his pillow in embarrassment. He was so horny, waking up with a massive hard-on, mostly likely due to the strong arms that had been wrapped around him. Arthur had no interest in him, that much was obvious. 

His head was still lying into his pillow, trying to shut out the world, when Will waltzed into the room, almost singing, "Somebody saw Prince Arthur leaving your room this morning!"

Merlin huffed a laugh. Of course - there were no secrets from the servants in the palace. He rolled over onto his back just as Will jumped on the bed where he had been lying. 

"I want all the dirty details."

Merlin smiled wryly, "There are none. We didn't have sex or do anything remotely sexual with one another."

Will frowned,"But he was in your room? Aw, that's sweet - fledgling bondmates comforting each other at night."

"Not that either," Merlin deadpanned. "I lost control in my sleep last night. Arthur came and dissipated the energy - he said it was easier when touching and he must have fallen asleep."

"Shit, Merlin," Will said. "You lost control again? So soon after the Arisan!"

"I know!" Merlin moaned. "I thought that I would at least get a month reprieve."

The Arisan was an extreme loss of control and after undergoing the ceremony, most Drakarins found their magic drained to the point where it would take about a year to lose control in such a way. The strongest of the Drakarin usually lasted about six months before the energy built up to the point it needed to be released. The shortest time on record before Merlin was five months, by the bondmate of Uther Pendrakan, Nimueh Tripoli - the only gold level Drakarin living at the moment. For Merlin's magic to build so quickly after the Arisan - only 48 hours! - was not even thought to be possible. 

"Well, we knew that you were insanely powerful - your colors prove it. I mean pearly black? Who knows how far from gold that it. I overheard the magisters talking -"

"Of course you did," Merlin mumbled sleepily.

"- and they think that after gold, the color schemes repeat with the pearly overlay. And since each color level is twice as strong as the level before it, that would mean you are ten times stronger than Nimueh!"

"Learn math Will - that would be about five hundred times stronger. And that does not make me feel better at all. What's the use of so much power if it has to siphoned off every couple of days?" 

The two friends were silent for a moment. Merlin groaned as another thought occurred to him, "You know what this really means? I won't be able to go anywhere without Arthur. Not if the magic is going to slip every two days!" 

"Cheer up mate. I can think of worse people to be stuck with than Arthur. He is a fine specimen of the male gender," Will commented appreciatively.

"He's not interested."

"Has he said that? Cause I can assure you, with the size of that bond mark, he probably is a little drawn to you himself. And anyway it doesn't matter, you can appreciate and not touch - like art!"

"You are ridiculous." 

Will grinned and the minutes passed between them. Will almost thought Merlin had fallen asleep again, when Merlin mumbled, "Come with me, Will."

"What?" 

"Come to Camelot with me," Merlin pleaded. Will grimaced as Merlin gave him the best doe eyes he could muster. "Please?"

Will sighed, "Let me talk with Perce, ok?"

Merlin grinned, confident in his success, "Sure."

"Alright, now time to get out of bed."

"Do I have go?" Merlin whined.

"Merlin! You lazy ass. I know for certain that you spent most of yesterday in bed or on the couch." 

"So what? It was a hard day for me before that - almost dying and then the bonding. And how would you know? You didn't come to work at all."

"How do you know that? Maybe you were sleeping when I came by."

Merlin snorted, begrudgingly kicking off his covers and rolling to his feet out of bed followed by a large arms-over-the-head stretch. "I hope that Percy at least got some benefits of your skipping." Will grinned devilishly back at him in response.

After dressing, Merlin and Will sat down together for their morning meditation. "Did you meditate yesterday?"

"Er no."

"Maybe that's why your magic went kaput last night," Will reasoned.

"Could be. I'll try not to miss anymore and see if it makes a difference," Merlin agreed.

 

* * *

 

"Gwaine! Could you be any less distracted?" Arthur shouted, as he diverted his sword from a full out swing that could cripple a man if not blocked correctly. 

"Probably," Gwaine answered truthfully as he winked at the women gathering at the edge of the open area. Arthur decided that the landing area Merlin showed him before would be perfect for training, so he commandeered it for knight training while they stayed in Ealdor. 

"Stop flirting and focus. Now is not the time," Arthur growled as he took another swing.

Gwaine blocked the swing with a clash of swords before disengaging to counter-attack. 

"Just trying to have a good time like I heard you did last night," Gwaine panted between breaths as they fought.

"Oh? And what was that?" Arthur asked. Arthur's block brought their swords locked together between them and each pushed against the other for dominance.

"Lyza said another maid saw you slipping out of Merlin's room early this morning," Gwaine said hastily as their swords were against each other. "Exploring your new bondmate, Arthur?"

Arthur growled and lunged back, disengaging the swords. "And who is Lyza?" Arthur and Gwaine circled one another looking for an opening. 

"A lovely kitchen maid I met the other day. She brings me extra sweet pies at dinner. But stop avoiding, Arthur. You and Merlin huh?" Gwaine saw an opening and moved in for his signature move to disarm.

"It's not like that, Gwaine." Arthur blocked the move and ducked under the next swing to bring his sword to Gwaine's throat. 

"I yield," Gwaine said lowering his sword. "So what is it like?" 

"He lost control last night. I absorbed it. Nothing else happened." Arthur turned to the assembled knights warming up. "Leon, Lancelot." 

 Gwaine furrowed his brow in confusion. "So Emrys is the real deal then?"

A different voice answered Gwaine's question, deep and smooth, "Yeah he is." 

Gwaine spun around to face the speaker with joy, "Percy!"

Percy ignored Gwaine for the moment, looking to Arthur, "I know I forfeited my position when I left, but permission to train, sir?"

Arthur grinned, "Of course. We're glad to see you." Arthur slapped the man on the back in greeting. "Elyan, spar with Percy." Percy smiled at Arthur gratefully, gave Gwaine a big man-hug, and moved out to take his position.

"So," Gwaine started, "He lost control two days after his coming-of-age. Think it was only residual energy from having both ceremonies back to back?"

Arthur shook his head as he squinted up at the Drakarin palace, his eyes drifting to the open air balcony of Merlin's rooms. "No," he said contemplatively. "It was a massive amount of energy. Gwaine, I've never felt anything like it. We've always been told that we could absorb all amounts of energy - it shouldn't do anything to us. But Merlin's magic - it makes my blood boil."

"Well it could be something else making you hot," Gwaine suggested with a wink. Arthur shot him a withering look. Gwaine threw his hands up placatingly. "Fine, sorry. I'll drop the subject of you and Merlin getting friendlier than bondmates. Though, you know, Percy seems mighty happy about his situation of being more than friends. Merlin is a highly attractive man, which must be tempting." 

Arthur collapsed on the ground and began to clean his sword. "Good for Percy, I'm glad he's happy."

Gwaine sprawled out beside Arthur on the ground. "What do you think it means that Merlin is so strong?" 

"I don't know," Arthur said simply. 

"I d like to know what that amount of power feels like."

"I swear I'll rip you apart if you ever try it."

"Possessive," Gwaine remarked appreciatively. 

"No," Arthur corrected, "Protective."

"Of Merlin? He does seem sensitive."

"No, idiot. Of you. I think that Merlin's power would kill anyone else. And I really don't want to have to deal with the ramifications of that international incident. Or how Merlin would feel about that - he is the sensitive sort."

 

* * *

 

Merlin had one week before he left for Camelot. He spent a good part of it packing. At one point, Will was lounging on the bed as Merlin packed his clothes into trunks. "You know," Merlin said carefully, "technically you're supposed to be packing for me."

"But that would mean I have to pack two households of stuff," Will whined. 

"You're coming?" Merlin asked, demeanor changing from melancholy to ridiculously happy. 

"Of course," Will said. "Perce jumped at the chance to go back to his home. He already cleared it with Arthur."

Merlin's happiness was a bit punctured by the thought of Arthur. He barely saw the man except at state functions. And sitting in a meeting over trade agreements was not the best atmosphere to begin building a relationship. In fact the only times Merlin saw Arthur outside of state meetings were the two more times he had woken up to see Arthur slipping out of his bed. Which led to what Merlin spent the other portion of his week working on: control. Word spread too quickly in the palace and by afternoon of the first loss of control, Merlin's parents had asked him to report to the magisters for additional study. Merlin grumbled that he didn't think he would learn anything in a week that hadn't sunk in over his twenty-one years, but he reported every afternoon for four hours. 

His teacher, Gaius, believed Merlin's situation was odd. "It's strange," he said, "because you don't wake up Merlin. A true loss of control would be painful - like the Arisan ceremony, until your bonded took away the magic. This seems more like you're _venting_ the magic. I've never seen anything like it, but because it's you, it doesn't mean it's not possible. You are a question that hasn't been asked before."

Gaius' words did not make Merlin feel any better about the situation. His teacher had an instruction for him - an experiment. "Tell Arthur, the next time he feels your magic starting to waver out of control overnight, to message me first and then to not absorb the magic. I want to see if it would wake you up eventually."

Arthur thought they were crazy. "I'm supposed to do what?!" His face contorted in disbelief. "You know how much magic you put off in your sleep? You want me to let it build? Merlin, this is crazy. What if - what if it's too much and I can't bring you back?"

Merlin frowned, "Then I suppose you won't have to be tied to me anymore. It's not like you care for me anyway."

"Merlin..." Arthur watched the angry younger man. It's true that Arthur hadn't wanted to be a part of the arranged bonding with Merlin at first. But that had changed when he had seen the man and felt the connection between them before the bond was cemented between them. Merlin turned away with shoulders slumped. Arthur turned him back to face him with a hand on his shoulder. Merlin tensed against him. "It's true. I didn't want to bond with you before. But I could never leave you now - do you understand that? A bond mark the size of ours doesn't get formed without both parties. We're tied together, and I wouldn't cut you off anymore than I would cut off my own hand. I know we haven't spent much time together - with all these peace talks - but we'll have plenty of time for that when we go to Camelot."

Merlin relaxed and the tension bled out of his shoulders. Arthur softly spoke again, "I can _feel_ you, Merlin. Through the bond - I know how you're feeling and I know what that level of magic feels like through you. The other night, I absorbed so much power that I flew to Camelot and back without breaking a sweat. Do you understand how much power that is?" 

Camelot was several hundred leagues away. That Arthur made it there and back spoke volumes of the energy he absorbed. He would have to fly very fast to make the trip there /and/ back in one night. Merlin's jaw fell slack with shock. "Really?"

"Yeah. And that's the energy you put off in your sleep! I'm not even sure how I'll be able to deal with the level of energy that you put off in the Arisan ceremony - or higher even - when you truly lose control! Asking me to do this is crazy!"

"Arthur, I shouldn't be building that much energy in my sleep. It's not... normal. And I'd rather find out what happens while I'm here - where there are people who can contain the energy if it comes to that - than find out someday later when you couldn't be there."

Arthur sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It was true that he couldn't guarantee that he would always make it back to Merlin - he couldn't predict the future and he couldn't make that promise. Absorbing energy over distance was much more difficulty and risky. "Alright, I'll do this. But at the first sign of pain, I'm bringing you back down."

And that was how eight hours later, Arthur was cursing himself for agreeing as he watched his bond mate toss and turn on the bed. When Arthur was awoken by the lingering tug through the bond, he sent a message to Gaius as directed before heading to Merlin's chambers. He was currently sitting on the couch furthest from Merlin's bed - in the next room over even, though there were no doors in the large double doorway - to prevent himself from absorbing the magic unintentionally. The cool night breeze from the desert swept into the room from the open balcony, rustling the light blue gossamer curtains. Merlin moaned, low and deep, and Arthur had to clench his fists from running over to the man.

He wasn't sure when he began care so much. It had happened just over the past week. He knew that there had been a strong basis to their bond before the ceremony had even started when he reacted so strongly at the Arisan. Merlin had also admitted a prior tie when he revealed that Arthur's presence shook him from his meditative state. 

As the minutes ticked by, Arthur restlessly bounced his leg up and down as he sat. Gaius met him at Merlin's room initially and ran a studying eye over the sleeping prince. "If he changes - goes into Alíese - let me know immediately. There's a guard and a page stationed right outside the door with instructions to find me and Nimueh. All you need to do is shout."

Alíese, Arthur's mind provided, was the Drakarin word for release. It was the name they had taken to calling when their magic slipped out of control. The Drakan held a different word for the event - the Burning - for the way the Drakarin's body temperature would rise. Arthur was slightly surprised to hear Gaius mention his father's banished bond mate. He never knew the sorceress as she had fled shortly after his birth. "Nimueh?" 

"Yes, as gold level she is the only one with enough power to possibly contain Merlin. She also has experience of riding out the Alíese without a bond."

Arthur nodded. He never thought much about his father's bondmate. Of course she would have found an alternative method once Uther banished her and refused to help her with her excess energy.

It had already been over an hour since Gaius left and Arthur could feel the magic pouring out of Merlin through the bond like waves. Arthur leaned his head back against the back of the couch in frustration. Two more hours found Arthur curled up on the couch, blinking away the sleep as he stared at the figure on the bed. Merlin was very vocal at this point, gasping and moaning - Arthur could feel that the magic had increased, but he still felt no signs of pain from the sleeping man. The sounds leaving Merlin were doing wicked things to Arthur as his mind slipped to other activities that caused such noises. 

The pace of the rise of magic began to rapidly increase and Arthur sat up to watch Merlin worriedly. Suddenly, the magic seemed to explode. Arthur shouted with surprise and rose from the couch as Merlin emitted a loud keening groan. The magic fell quickly afterwards and Arthur sank down into the couch with a laugh as he realized what happened. A few minutes later, Arthur heard running footsteps coming down the hall. He quickly went to the door and slipped out of Merlin's rooms to intercept them. 

Gaius and a tall brunette woman with sapphire eyes hurried towards him. "Arthur?" Gaius asked with surprise as he noticed the Drakan prince's relaxed demeanor.

"He's alright. I didn't mean to shout. He surprised me is all." Gaius exhaled in relief and the two came to a stop in front of Arthur.

Nimueh spoke in a clear ringing voice, "It's nice to finally meet you Arthur Pendrakan." Arthur returned the greeting and shook the hand of this mysterious woman who was his father's bond mate. "What happened then?" Nimueh asked.

Arthur blushed, unsure how to phrase his answer. Nimueh smirked knowingly at the blush and Gaius huffed in disbelief as they quickly understood Arthur's unspoken answer. "We'll keep this to ourselves, then," Gaius said. "I don't think the whole palace needs to know that Merlin's power slips to the level equivalent of a gold level Alíese when he has a sex dream. Nimueh and I were monitoring the power levels from upstairs."

Arthur froze in shock at the man's bluntness. Overcoming his momentary speechlessness, Arthur replied hoarsely, "Yeah that would be good."

Nimueh laughed, "Have a good night, Arthur Pendrakan." Gaius and Nimueh bowed to him before taking their leave. Arthur sighed and turned back to the room, his hand on the door knob to open the door. But he didn't enter the room, debating with himself. He reluctantly closed the door quietly and returned to his rooms. And when Arthur woke up with morning wood, he was not the least bit surprised. It only took mentally recalling Merlin's face and sounds the night before and a few lazy strokes to finish himself.

When Merlin woke up alone and noticed the dried material on his boxers, he was mortified. He was too embarrassed to look Gaius in the face and had fled the opposite direction when he saw Nimueh coming around a corner. Arthur was the one who told him was had happened the night before, fidgeting uncomfortably as he recounted the night. Merlin blushed furiously with shame. Thinking to himself, Merlin rationalized that no, he wasn't just a horny bastard. His magic simply needed an outlet. Sex had long been known to be the third way to release magical energy, with the first being the Alíese and the second through the bond. 

Even with the rationalization, Merlin didn't feel any less embarrassed. It also didn't help with the surprise he felt when he woke up to Arthur's arms around him two nights later on the morning of his departure for Camelot. If Arthur knew the magic wasn't going to harm him, why was Arthur in his bed?


	2. Camelot

Merlin watched the dust swirl behind the hover vehicles as they sailed smoothly over the desert north to Camelot. The hover vehicle was large inside, with plenty of seats in a compartment style arrangement. They had been in transit for five hours now and Merlin was bored. He glanced over at Arthur, who sat with his close circle of friends chatting happily. The sunlight coming though the large hovercraft windows reflected off his blond hair, creating a halo effect around the man. He saw Arthur half turn to look at him and Merlin quickly busied himself with something - picking the sand out from under his nails - to pretend he hadn't been admiring Arthur.

Merlin was confused with Arthur at the moment. Typically Arthur slipped out of Merlin's bed before Merlin woke up, but that morning, Arthur had slept in. Merlin had woke up perplexed and the situation only puzzled him more when Arthur woke up and laid with his arms around Merlin for a few extra minutes, before lazily stretching as he got out of bed and left the room.

"You two looked cozy this morning," Will commented later as he and Merlin toured through Ealdor one last time. Merlin took in the sights and sounds of his home, greeting familiar faces at the shops and stands lining the bazaar market. When Merlin didn't respond, Will carefully ventured, "Merlin?"

"I don't know Will. I'm confused. I thought he hated - no that's wrong - I thought he was apathetic. As if I was a burden in his life. But then he slipped into my bed last night. He didn't need to. He knew the magic would be fine. I can only reason that he wanted to..."

Will was quiet, Merlin elbowed him in the side. "Ah, young love," Will sighed dramatically, "it blossoms so quickly." Merlin whacked Will on the arm. His friend grinned at him before seriously saying, "I don't know Merlin. I guess you'll have to see where it goes."

Merlin grimaced. He wished Arthur would give him some forewarning before the man changed his routine. At least then Merlin would know where he stood with the man. A hand on his shoulder jolted him from his thoughts and Merlin looked up to see the golden man plaguing his thoughts.

"You alright?" Arthur asked casually.

"Yeah, I was just thinking."

Arthur studied him briefly. "Come meet the guys. They're my knights and closest friends and they've been bugging me all week about you."

Merlin didn't have much of an excuse not to go chat with Arthur's men, so he reluctantly stood up and followed Arthur to the other side of the hover vehicle. "Men, this is Merlin."

"Merlin, this is Leon, Elyan, Lancelot, and Gwaine." Arthur motioned to each man as he said their name.

"Hey," Merlin said with a friendly smile. "How's it going?"

Gwaine sighed and looked up at the man, "Probably about the same as yourself. We've been sitting in this thing for hours. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get out."

Merlin nodded, agreeing with the sentiment. Arthur looked at Gwaine sprawled on the other half of the compartment seat. "Scoot." Gwaine huffed theatrically, but moved over without protest. Arthur resumed his seat and pulled Merlin down beside him.

Merlin looked at Arthur's personal knights and expected an awkward silence, but Gwaine wasn't able to hold in his question, and no sooner had the Drakarin prince sat down when Gwaine seized the opportunity to ask slyly, "So, what have you done to our Arthur?"

Merlin flushed, thrown off by the question, "Uh, nothing?"

Arthur punched Gwaine lightly on the shoulder. Gwaine noticed the glint in Arthur's eyes that spoke of pain saved for later. The knight smiled cheekily at Arthur.

"Ignore him, Merlin," Lancelot said, holding out his hand. "It's good to meet you."

Leon, sitting beside Lancelot, seconded Lancelot's opinion on Gwaine and gave his greetings. Leon and Lancelot easily roped Merlin into a discussion about Drakarin customs that had confused them while in Ealdor. Arthur happily watched as Merlin relaxed as he spoke with the knights.

"So, if you don't mind me asking," Lancelot began, "why do you have two names?"

"I'm known by my middle name. My full name is Emrys Merlin Drakarin."

"Only the royal family has the last name Drakarin?" Leon asked recalling his culture classes from grade school.

Merlin nodded, "And that's how the title for our king became Drakarin."

"But you're a Drakarini."

"Yeah, variations of the title were developed to distinguish rank. Drakarin - same thing as a king to you, Drakareen - queen, Drakarini - prince... and if I had a sister, Drakarina - princess."

"It must be amusing to be the king - think about it - Drakarin Balinor Drakarin."

Merlin laughed. "We don't say the name twice. My family name is a title. So it's Drakarin Balinor or in my case, Drakarini Emrys. By our title, everyone knows our family name," Merlin corrected.

The conversation drifted away from Merlin's customs to the subject of the upcoming festival in honor of the new peace treaties and Arthur's bonding. Merlin was amazed by the different sporting contests to be held - some of which he had never considered, not having a set of wings himself. "Are you competing, Arthur?" Elyan asked.

"Of course he is," Gwaine said loudly, pounding Arthur on the back. "He's got an endless supply of energy to vent." Gwaine winked at Merlin.

Merlin grimaced, once again recalling his regular venting of magic - and other pent up feelings. Arthur noticed and scowled at Gwaine, "I hadn't thought about it. There's a lot of work that needs to be done now that we're legalizing the bonding ceremony again."

"All work and no play," Gwaine remarked. "What an exhausting lifestyle."

"As if you would know, Gwaine," Elyan laughed.

"I train with this slave-driver too," Gwaine defended.

"Yes, but we all know it doesn't stop your 'play'," Leon said dryly.

Gwaine grinned roguishly. "Ah, you all are jealous."

Merlin was amused by the antics of the men as they held a mock battle in between the seats of the hover vehicle. This was his first time on a hover vehicle since he was a boy. The Drakarin royal family usually used magic to teleport whenever they needed to travel far. Merlin didn't know what to do with himself on such a long trip. He tried not to think about the sides of the vehicle enclosing him or he would get claustrophobic. At least the hover vehicle had big windows that he could look out. Growing up in Ealdor, he was used to wide open spaces - even the palace was incredibly open with no windows or doors blocking the palace from the outside. Already he missed the arches, intricate detailing of the walls and ceiling carvings, and vivid color mosaics of the Ealdor palace. Already the desert was starting to fade into grassy plains.

"We're planning to stop in Avalon for the night and continue to Camelot tomorrow," Arthur said, bringing Merlin out of his reverie.

Avalon was a border city between the two nations. It was located in Drakarin territory right across the border from the Drakan lands. The towering mountains that rose up around it marked the border to the start of Drakan lands. It was a remarkable city in that it had an equal population of Drakarin and Drakan.

Avalon was an important city to the Drakarin people. It was the location of the Isle of the Blessed, the center of the Old Religion on Draka. Every Drakarin priest and priestess was sent to Avalon to train. Merlin had spent many summers in Avalon at the Drakarin summer palace. Merlin was slightly surprised that they were stopping in Avalon instead of continuing onto the other side of the border and stopping in Gedref, the border town of Drakan lands.

"The mountains are treacherous at night. It's better to cross in the day," Arthur said answering Merlin's unasked question. Merlin looked up at Arthur sharply. Had Arthur unknowingly read his mind? It was possible between bond mates, but it typically took years of companionship to reach that level in the bonding. Arthur didn't seem to notice anything amiss and Merlin shook himself out of his thoughts. Of course Arthur had assumed he would ask that question.

It was several more hours before Merlin could see the blue outlines of the mountains rising in the distance and a few more hours after that they finally came into the shadows of the mountains close to Avalon.

The city of Avalon was a shimmering green and blue vision. The city had been built from the natural rock found within the mountains around it. The shiny black rock had glittering lines of metals that reflected green and blue in light. The effect was that Avalon appeared ethereal and otherworldly as it rose beneath the mountains with its glowing spires and towers.

The hover craft rolled smoothly over the luminous black paved streets of the city. Avalon's archways and streets were extra-wide to allow room for a Drakan in second form. The effect made one seem quite small in contrast to the large streets. The caravan of vehicles pulled in front of the Avalon palace, cut partially into the side of the mountain with a sprawling entrance framed by two large towers rising up on each side.

Arthur was impressed by the city. He had never actually been to Avalon before - only seeing it in the distance as they traveled on the way to Ealdor a week ago. The lambent city was slightly spooky, but it only added to its mysterious aura. Same as Ealdor, the city had large wide balconies and windows. While he and his men looked around the city with gaping eyes, he noticed Will reappeared with Percy in tow. Will and Merlin weren't watching the city. Instead they were speaking to each other quietly. Will replied to Merlin quite vehemently, but Arthur had no idea what was said.

"Where have you been?" Merlin asked frustrated. Will raised his eyebrows and grinned smugly as his eyes darted to Percy. "Oh forget I asked. I want to go to the Isle of the Blessed tonight. You coming?"

"Ugh, no. Avalon and the Isle scare the shit out of me," Will said crassly. "I plan to spend this evening in bed, if you know what I mean."

"I'm going to try Arisan again."

Will sputtered, "Merlin, don't you dare. It's too soon."

"I'll be alright. I have to do this, Will. I have to know that I can control it. Otherwise what's the point?"

"Take Arthur. I need to know that if it goes wrong, you'll be ok."

"I can do this without him. I'm not going to slip."

"Merlin, take Arthur with you," Will repeated fiercely. Before Merlin had a chance to respond, the hovercraft stopped and the doors were opened.

They were led into the palace to a big wide hall. Arthur was sure that he could fit comfortably in the room even as a dragon with how high the ceiling rose above him. They were met in the hall by a man, the likes of which Arthur had never seen before. He had heard about the Sidhe, the crossbreed people of Drakan and Drakarin heritage, but he had never met one before. The Sidhe rarely strayed far from Avalon. Typically, when Drakarin and Drakan intermarried, the children were very decidedly one or the other in heritage. Will's mother was an example of this - half Drakan, but she was clearly Drakarin. The genes didn't normally mix. The Sidhe had intermarried for centuries until they had created their own hybrid race that held characteristics of both races.

Most noticeably, the man was blue. He had big ears - more like a dragon's than a humans - long and pointed. His hands ended in a series of claws rather than nails and when he smiled at them, Arthur could see the hint of sharp teeth hidden behind pale blue lips.

The Sidhe man before them bowed low to Merlin, "Drakarini Emrys, we are pleased to have you here. We were most happy when we heard the news about your Arisan ceremony."

Merlin smiled widely at the man, "It's good to see you, Oberon."

Oberon turned to Arthur and his father, "Your highness King Uthuro Pendragon and Prince Arturo Pendragon, you are welcome to the Summer Palace at Avalon. I am the steward of Avalon. If you have any problems or requests, please let me now, we will lead you to your rooms. Dinner is served here in the great hall at seven."

While being led to his rooms, Arthur was surprised at how many people resided in the palace. For a place that served as a summer home for the royal family, the palace seemed to be full though it was now autumn. Arthur's room was in one of the towers. It was a lovely room, but nothing like the extravagance of Ealdor. The room had a wide balcony that Arthur could tell was the perfect length to be able to land. This room must be reserved for Drakan visitors, Arthur thought. After exploring the room and looking at the city from the balcony, Arthur had time to wash and change before a knock on the door signaled that it was time for dinner.

Merlin spent the time before dinner talking with Oberon. The royal palace was used to house the novices in training for priesthood in the Old Religion. Merlin was introduced to the new faces that had arrived since summer. The fourth floor of the palace was reserved for royals, so Merlin wandered up to have some quiet meditation before dinner. He was sitting down in the private common areas of the royal residence when a door opening and footsteps broke him from his thoughts. He looked up to see his favorite cousin. "Morgana!" He rose to hug her.

The brunette beauty with lovely jade eyes laughed in delight. "Merlin, it's so good to see you. I heard you were having trouble meditating, but I guess this proves it," Morgana said as she stood back from him. She touched his cheek tenderly. "I heard about the Arisan. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Alice and Gaius patched me up afterward."

Morgana frowned slightly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

"Don't be."

Morgana frowned deepened. "Merlin, they say you died."

"Obviously not, I'm still here," Merlin dismissed with a nervous laugh.

"But you burned. No one goes through those fires alive. The priests said that the high priest continued on the ceremony as if you died and then you... woke up."

Merlin sighed and sat down on the couch nearby. He rubbed his brow, "I don't know what happened. I could feel the pain and the fire, I blacked out, and then I woke up."

Morgana was actually Merlin's second cousin. Her mother, Vivienne, and Balinor were cousins, but as Balinor had no siblings, Merlin and Morgana had grown up as the only royal children in the capital. Morgana had been in line to the throne when she had chosen to be a priestess shortly after her Arisan ceremony and forfeited her titles. She had been in Avalon for the past three years and was currently studying to be one of the three high priestesses of the triple goddess.

Morgana paused, about to ask Merlin another question, before deciding to change the subject. "So... show me these colors that everyone has been talking about and then I want to hear about your bond mate."

Arthur arrived at dinner slightly early and took his seat at the high table. The tables filled in after him. Merlin was one of the last people to arrive with a gorgeous dark brunette woman on his arm. Her porcelain skin and light jade eyes reminded him of Merlin. She was holding tightly onto Merlin's arm and was laughing at something he was talking about. Merlin had not changed from the clothes he traveled in and was speaking animatedly with his other hand. A churning feeling started in his stomach and he surprised himself to realize that he was angry to see Merlin so familiar with someone else. Arthur had the seat to the left of the empty ornate chair for Merlin, but he was quite surprised when Merlin led the woman to the empty throne on the right.

Merlin sat down with Morgana in the two tall backed chairs that normally belonged to his parents, but in their absence, was his designated spot. As he walked in he spotted Arthur sitting at the high table, a perfect vision of red and gold. He felt the heat rise as he took in Arthur and quickly distracted himself by telling Morgana a funny story.

Arthur leaned over to his father. Uther was also watching the girl with a slight frown. He opened his mouth to ask his father who the girl was when Merlin turned to him. "Arthur, I'd like you to meet the Lady Morgana Lefay. She's my second cousin. You may have known her father, the late Lord Gorlois?"

Arthur's mind reeled in shock. He remembered Gorlois quite well - the man had been a close friend of his father's. Arthur could also remember days spent running around with Gorlois' daughter while their fathers were away fighting. Gorlois' death triggered Uther to reach out to Balinor in peace. During the peace treaty visit to Ealdor, Vivienne had decided it would be better for her daughter, as Drakarin royalty, to grow up in the Drakarin courts. Arthur recalled how lonely he had been at eight years old leaving Ealdor after the peace agreements to look back and see Morgana standing there waving him goodbye.

"Lady Morgana," Arthur said, "it is a pleasure to see you again."

"Oh Arthur, always so formal. I can remember you putting frogs in my hair. I think formality has little sway between us."

Arthur chuckled, fondly remembering the incident. "You got your vengeance quite spectacularly if I remember correctly. I don't think I could sit for days after you spelled that broom to chase me around the castle spanking me."

Arthur, Morgana, and Merlin broke out into laughter at the mental image. Morgana reached across Merlin to grasp Arthur's hand. "It is good to see you again. And on such good tidings. I think you and Merlin will do well for each other."

Merlin flushed red. Arthur raised an eyebrow at him in question. "I'm not sure I want to know what else you've been talking about."

Merlin cleared his throat. "That's a great idea," Merlin said quickly.

"I was telling Merlin that I was pretty sure that you had the hots for one of the knights when we were younger, and that if you felt that way about men when you were eight, you would think that now too," Morgana said bluntly.

Arthur flushed the same red as his jacket, which also matched Merlin's current color. "Oh, ahem, well," Arthur cleared his throat and pulled at his collar, trying to get more air, "I'm sure that has been enlightening."

"Oh it has," Morgana assured him with a smirk. Dinner was served, which saved Merlin or Arthur from responding to Morgana's comments.

Merlin leaned over to Arthur, "Whatever you do, don't let her meet Gwaine."

"I don't think the world is ready for that one," Arthur agreed.

Dinner continued with casual light talk until Merlin asked, "Morgana, where's your bond mate?"

Arthur sputtered and almost knocked over his wine. "You have a bond mate?"

"Of course," Morgana said haughtily. "I don't think a silver level could survive without a bond mate. Aithusa is out. She's shy and doesn't like big crowds, so she decided to leave for a little bit."

Merlin nodded understandingly. Arthur tried to recall if he knew an Aithusa and drew a blank. Whoever Aithusa was, she was not from Camelot. Dessert was brought out then, and Arthur found it to be one of his favorites - Drakan brûlée - flamed to perfection. While Arthur dug in voraciously, Morgana spoke quietly to Merlin. "Are you going to the temple?"

"I was planning on going to the Isle after dinner."

"Good."

"It was expected. Of course I'm going to go. Maybe pray for more control," Merlin admitted.

"Merlin, I know you can handle it. You would not be given so much power if you were not meant to be able to use it. And Arthur can handle it too," Morgana assured him. "Balinor knew what he was doing when he petitioned for the bonding between you and Arthur."

An hour later as Merlin was thinking about those words as he stepped out of his rooms to head to the Isle of the Blessed. As he walked down the hall, he spotted Arthur coming the opposite way. "Going somewhere?" Arthur asked curiously.

"I was going to go to the Isle to pay my respects."

"Mind if I come?" Arthur was curious about the famed Isle of the Blessed. He knew it was the center of the Old Religion. He didn't know too much about the Old Religion. Uther had banned all practices twenty-two years ago. It would now be reintroduced, Arthur thought, as he didn't think it fair to keep Merlin from practicing it.

Merlin was startled by Arthur's request. "I suppose?" he said uncertainly. He remembered Will's pleading earlier that day. If Arthur wanted to watch, Merlin supposed he didn't have a reason for Arthur not to come.

Arthur wasn't so sure of his decision as he stepped into the small dinky boat to take them across the lake. He had barely set both feet in before it started moving by magic. Arthur quickly sat down before he lost his balance and fell into the water. Merlin hadn't said much after Arthur's initial request. When the boat stopped on the other side, the sun had completely fallen. The island was lit by small fairy lights overhead. The buildings were not the same fluorescent green as Avalon. Instead the Isle was simple - rough gray stone brick buildings. There were many buildings on the small island - dormitories and classrooms, dining halls, and meditation rooms. Merlin led them to the center of the island, to an open courtyard surrounded in a circle by stone pillars. A stone alter was noticeable in the center of the courtyard. Arthur recalled the same basic layout of the inner temple in Ealdor and realized this was the equivalent here on the island.

Arthur stayed back, not entering the stone circle as Merlin removed his shoes and stepped onto the grass in the center. Merlin knelt in the center of the circle and began to - meditate or pray, Arthur assumed. He felt like an intruder, watching Merlin do this private soul-searching, but Merlin didn't seem offended or awkward at Arthur's presence. Arthur sat down against a nearby wall to wait. He wasn't sure what he had expected at the island. It looked like it was simply a quiet religious area.

As Merlin prayed, Arthur noticed people begin to gather around the circle, though none entered it. He looked up surprised when Morgana appeared beside him. "What are they waiting for?" Arthur asked quietly.

Morgana shook her head, indicating for silence. Arthur reluctantly turned back to the circle to watch his bonded. And then it started. Arthur saw no visible changes to Merlin, but he felt the shift in power. This was different than what he had felt before. The power was increasing in a controlled slow build. A crackling noise startled him as Arthur saw lightning leap between the stones of the circle, encasing in it in high voltage. Those closest to the circle shifted back a little. The colors of lightning changed as the power increased. Along with the color levels of magic, Arthur assumed. It ran from pure white light to yellow, orange, green to blue, purple, brown, red to black. Silver, gold, and then with a gasp from the crowd, pearly white. It was white with a small rainbow shinning through it. The colors didn't stop there and repeated until it reached the iridescent pearly black that Arthur recognized from Merlin's clothing after the Arisan. Arthur had to shield his eyes from the brightness as the colors progressed.

Arthur shuffled his feet nervously. He could feel the power through the bond - and he thought Merlin's nightly releases were a lot of power. They were nothing compared to this. The lightning, which had been burning hot, sizzled cold, but the colors remained. The lights shot out from each stone and converged over Merlin head into a single beacon that stretched into the heavens. The thunder was enormous and the lights rolled out overhead across the clouds. Arthur felt Merlin release the magic and watched as the lightning faded, first from the skies and then finally from the stones. When the spots faded from Arthur's eyes, he was surprised to see that in place of the gray stone boulders now stood giant white crystals.

The crowd tittered with surprise and awe. Arthur looked sharply at the man in the circle. Arthur supposed he would have to get used to crazy displays of magic with Merlin. It was as if his bonded couldn't help it. Merlin still knelt in the circle in the same position as before. Only Arthur could sense what the man was doing as he felt the residual threads of energy being drawn back into Merlin and buried deep inside. Morgana appeared in his vision. "Come on, Arthur. He's going to be a while. Come have something warm to drink."

Morgana led him to a dining hall and handed Arthur a hot cup of coffee as they sat down at one of the tables.

"What was that?" Arthur choked out.

"That was a controlled Arisan," Morgana explained. "The Rising through the levels of magical power, stopping at the caster's level. Most Arisan's are beautiful to watch - which is why they gather crowds... though most Drakarin don't have lightning. Typically the air glows as they rise through the colors or the stones glow the colors.

"What happened at Merlin's ceremony - that's when things go wrong. Alíese - the burning - comes when the power slips out of hand and instead of lovely colors, the heat builds inward on the person to a fire. I was worried for a minute with Merlin back there. It got pretty hot, but he caught it in time. The crystals - well, that's never happened before."

"What does it mean?"

Morgana sighed. "Merlin is special. He's unlike anyone before. To him, magic is as easy as breathing. He was doing spells as a boy that I struggle with now. I can't tell you what it all means - I don't know. But I do know that level of power is meant to be used for something, Arthur, and he needs you to be able to do it."

"What can I do against that?" Arthur gestured helplessly in the direction of the crystal circle.

"You are the one who can keep him alive. He used a lot of power tonight - it might take a few days for it to build back up again. But Arthur, there are no known spells of his level and unless he is using magic at his level regularly, it will build up uncontrollably. Magic takes a price on a mortal body if held inside. That's where you come in. You need to save him from himself. You are true-bonded; you will be able to absorb the magic."

Arthur sighed. Everyone said that he could, but he supposed that until he actually did so, he wouldn't believe them. "How did everyone know to come watch Merlin tonight?"

"That's easy. Every time Merlin sets foot in that circle, something is bound to happen. Plus Will is the biggest gossip in the world and Merlin told him earlier," Morgana laughed.

Merlin appeared not long after, looking slightly tired, but a huge smile spilt across his face. "Ready?" On the way back to the palace, Merlin explained that he wanted to prove that he could complete the Arisan. "I could feel you getting frantic through the bond. I'm glad you were there. You should know what the levels feel like."

"Maybe a bit of warning next time?" Arthur asked as they reached the split off towards Merlin's rooms

Merlin grinned, "Alright." Arthur watched him disappear down the hall before heading to his own rooms in the tower. He cared about Merlin. In a week, the tall raven haired man had wormed his way into Arthur's heart. Perhaps it was the bond, but whatever the reason, Arthur knew that he would do everything in his power to keep Merlin safe.

* * *

The caravan set off early the next morning. Arthur nursed his morning coffee sleepily. On the other side of the vehicle, looking at Merlin made his head ache. He wasn't certain how someone could have so much energy early in the morning. They set off through the mountains. Occasionally, the hover vehicle would tilt when the ground below it got very uneven. Arthur noted vindictively that Merlin wasn't looking too energized anymore, instead he was pallid and seemed to clench his stomach with every tilt of the vehicle.

They left the mountains behind, to Merlin's satisfaction as the ride became smoother. It was another boring day in the hover vehicle. Merlin looked at the vast change in landscape in awe. His sandy desert had changed into rolling green hills and forests.

They reached Camelot late afternoon. The sparkling white castle towers soared to the sky. Camelot was beautiful, Merlin decided. The city sprawled around the castle, protected by large white walls. Arthur led Merlin through the twisting corridors of the castle. Merlin thought the castle seemed rather stuffy with it's enclosed hallways and narrow windows. "This will be your room. My rooms are right down the hall."

Merlin looked around the chamber. The furniture was sturdy oak, with lush fabric dressings on the bed and dark blue curtains on the windows. It was a large chamber, extravagantly decorated, but it was so much different than his rooms back in Ealdor. He felt like he had been stuffed into a box. As Merlin's possessions started to arrived, Arthur took his leave. Merlin threw open the windows of the room to let in fresh air before directing the staff where to set his things.

Will appeared soon after, "Did you know that on the household roster, I am apparently the 'Drakarin Prince Manservant'?"

Merlin smiled amusedly. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, as if I would ever be good at that job," Will laughed. Will looked around the room. "These rooms are nice, and in Drakarin colors too!" Will said referring to the blue and silver decorations.

"I guess, but it's too closed in."

Will nodded in agreement as he helped Merlin unpack.

The rest of the day passed in a whirlwind. Arthur took Merlin on a tour of the castle and city. Merlin was introduced to more people than he could remember. Most remarkably was when he ran into one of the maids, causing her to drop the basket of freshly folded laundry she was carrying.

"I am so sorry," Merlin gasped as he bent down to help pick up the clothes.

"Oh no, your highness. I apologize. I should've watched where I was going," the woman said embarrassed. "Oh, let me get those," she added when she saw Merlin refolding the clothes and placing them in her basket.

"No problem," Merlin said picking up the last shirt. "My name is Merlin."

The woman chewed her lip, unsure whether it was alright to be on first name basis with royalty, "My name is Gwen, sire."

"Please, call me Merlin. It's a pleasure to meet you. Let me help you with that." Gwen flushed red and tried to protest that it wasn't proper for Merlin to carry the laundry, but Merlin ignored her pleas and so Gwen led him through the castle with the laundry. Merlin ended up meeting all the household staff as he followed Gwen around.

When they ran into Arthur, the Drakan prince's eyes bulged, "Merlin! What are you doing?" Gwen shuffled in embarrassment and couldn't look at Arthur's face.

Merlin smiled cheerfully, "I'm helping Gwen. I ran into her earlier and made her drop the laundry and now I'm making amends."

Arthur shook his head in astonishment, "You don't have to do that Merlin."

Gwen hesitantly said, "I tried to tell him that, your highness, but he wouldn't listen."

"I want to help. Plus I've met the most amazing people in the castle today. Did you know that Sally, the cook, has three horns in her dragon form?"

"Doesn't surprise me," Arthur said drolly. Horns were known to be symbols of aggression.

"Sally gave me a truffle before I left the kitchens. Very nice woman," Merlin remarked. Arthur's eyes widened at his bond mate. Sally was known to be very fierce and refused to give food to anyone begging at the kitchen - even royalty. When he looked at Gwen for assurance, she nodded. "And Gerald, the stable manager, told me he was going to make a new saddle for me."

Arthur burst out laughing, "Well Merlin, it seems that my castle staff seem to like you more in a day than they've ever liked me."

"Not true. They all spoke very fondly of you," Merlin disagreed. Gwen shuffled awkwardly beside him. "Oh! We've got to go now," he said remembering the pile of clothes in the basket in his arms, "Got to deliver these clothes."

Merlin hurried off, but Gwen curtsied in apology to Arthur before chasing after him. Merlin kept himself busy by meeting all the workers in the Camelot castle. He would go crazy if he stayed in his rooms all day and already the walls of the castle seemed to be closing in on him if he stayed in the same spot for too long. He was surprised that a people who changed into large dragons would live in a city that was so boxed in. Merlin tried to find places to meditate, but everywhere he went, someone came by and disturbed him by trying to talk to him. He was too kind to snub them and usually gave up on meditating. Another thing that irritated Merlin was the lack of magic in the city. Everything was done with electricity instead of magic. He was so used to the familiar hum of energy around him, that the lack of magic felt oppressive.

For the next day all Arthur heard was the castle talking about how amazing and friendly Merlin was. He wasn't sure why the gossip started to irritate him, until he looked down on the courtyard and saw Merlin and Will talking animatedly with Gwaine. Arthur realized that it was because he expected Merlin to spend time with him when at Camelot, but instead Merlin had quickly made his own friends.

Deciding to be proactive, he invited Merlin to go hunting with him. "I don't know why you kill animals for sport," Merlin huffed as he walked alongside Arthur through the forest.

"It's not about killing, it's about the hunt - the chase!" Arthur said excitedly. Merlin rolled his eyes. "I suppose growing up in a desert doesn't provide many opportunities to enjoy the finer sport of hunting."

"The desert doesn't make me a barbarian!" Merlin exclaimed. "If anything, I think this is barbaric."

Arthur backtracked, realizing he had offended Merlin. "We're going to eat it Merlin," Arthur placated. "I'm not killing it to leave it there." However at the end of the day, when nothing had been caught, Arthur was in a foul mood. "Do you have to be so loud?" he snapped at Merlin.

"I don't know what you mean. I'm walking through the forest same as you," Merlin said right before he stepped on a branch that broke in half with a loud snap.

Arthur sighed in frustration pointing at the broken branch, "That is exactly what I'm talking about."

Merlin threw his hands up, all of his frustrations at being stuck in the strange, claustrophobic city welling to the surface... "I'm sorry that I didn't grow up around a bunch of trees!" Merlin exclaimed furiously. "You're such a dollop head! Can't you see that all this is new to me? I don't know who half the nobles are - and they come up to me simpering and smiling and they don't think I can hear them talking about me as soon as they leave? Laughing at me and my big ears? And then you - I've barely seen you, and I don't even know whether you like me or not because most of the time you're frowning at me - yes, exactly like that! And I'm sick of the castle and this forest, and I swear that if I can't find a peaceful place to meditate soon, I'm going to explode!"

Arthur blinked in surprise, "I... I'm sorry Merlin. I had no idea you were feeling that way." Merlin huffed in reply and rolled his eyes. Arthur placed his hand gently on Merlin's shoulder. "Look, it's going to take time to get used to everything. I can't help that. I know you miss home. For the record, I love your ears. Don't listen to the nobles - some nobles are ruthless, bitter people. Give me a chance to introduce you to the right people. I don't mean to frown at you - you confuse me. I don't know where I fit in with you either. We need to give each other time."

Merlin stared at the ground and nodded reluctantly. Arthur continued, "For your claustrophobia and meditation, I can fix that - as long as you aren't afraid of heights too." Merlin raised his head to look him in the eyes. Arthur was stunned by the deep endless blue of Merlin's eyes.

"Really?"

"Sure," Arthur said as they changed direction to head back to Camelot. Merlin relaxed and followed Arthur. After a few paces, Arthur turned to Merlin, "Dollophead?" he asked wryly with raised eyebrows.

* * *

Life in Camelot got better after Arthur started spending more time with Merlin. Arthur showed him how to get to the top of one of the towers. It was quiet at the top of the tower and Merlin could see for leagues over the tops of the trees. He sighed with relief and the world opened back up again. Arthur grinned back at him and peacefully watched the sun set in the horizon with Merlin. "Nobody ever bothers to climb the tower steps up here," Arthur said as they walked back down the steps. "It's the only tower without a lift, so you can be assured that you'll be undisturbed up here. I always ran up here when I was younger and didn't want to be found by my tutors for lessons."

Climbing to the top of the tower each morning with Will to watch the sunrise and meditate became a regular part of Merlin's routine. A surprising addition to his schedule was slipping out of Arthur's arms each morning. Every night, they went to bed in separate rooms, and every morning, Merlin would wake up curled in Arthur's arms. When Merlin finally gathered the courage to wake Arthur up and ask, the prince sleepily said, "I don't know, you're comfortable," before he fell back into his dreams.

A week later a massive collection of leather straps and buckles appeared in Merlin's rooms with a note from the stable manager. It was a lovely piece of ornately carved and dyed leather with intricate swirls of red and blue decorum. Arthur walked in Merlin's room to see the man trying to piece out how the saddle worked. Merlin looked up at him, frustrated. "I don't understand. This doesn't look like any saddle I've ever seen. It's much to big for a horse."

Arthur laughed, "That's because it's meant for a dragon."

Merlin's mouth popped open, stunned. "Oh."

Arthur laughed even harder. "Would you like you like to try it out?"

Merlin reluctantly nodded and Arthur helped Merlin carry it down the steps to the courtyard. Arthur explained how the saddle should fit and drafted Lancelot to help Merlin out before he shifted to dragon form. Merlin and Lancelot lifted the saddle onto Arthur's back and they buckled the saddle appropriately. After all the buckles were tightened. Arthur stretched to make sure the saddle was comfortable before nodding down at Lancelot and Merlin. When Merlin didn't move, Arthur huffed a bit of smoke and prodded Merlin forward with his tail. "Come on, Merlin. Get on!"

Merlin climbed up Arthur's back and settled in the saddle, slightly mystified by the whole experience. Arthur jumped into the air and took off with a beat of wings. Merlin clenched his legs and grabbed the saddle tightly with his hands, yelling in surprise. It was the most fun Merlin had in his whole life - flying with Arthur. He could see the ground spread out in all directions far underneath him. The air was colder, but Arthur seemed to radiate warmth in his dragon form. Merlin whooped and spread his arms out to his sides, loving the feel of the wind in his face. Arthur landed later in a clearing outside the Camelot city walls. Merlin slipped off and Arthur shifted back to a man, before stepping out of the saddle. "Do we have to carry that all the way back to Camelot?" Merlin asked.

"No, this shed is used to store the saddles," Arthur said as he walked to the edge of the clearing and pulled open the door. He flicked the light to the building on and Merlin could see the saddles lined up on the wall. Each saddle had a name tag of the bonded pair it belonged to. Merlin noted with a sense of sadness that most hooks were empty and the few saddles remaining were dusty and unused. Many bonded pairs had perished in the wars or had fled to Drakarin lands. He wiped the dirt off a couple of the name tags - 'Uther and Nimueh' belonged to a large ornate saddle covered in layers of dust as if it hadn't been touched in years - two decades, Merlin supposed. The largest saddle in the shed belonged to 'Kilgarrah and Balinor.' Merlin wiped the dust off the saddle as he realized it had once belonged to his father.

Arthur silently placed their saddle on an empty rack. "It's depressing, isn't it?" Arthur agreed with Merlin's unspoken sentiments as he looked around the mostly abandoned building. "I think this might be the first saddle Gerald has made since the war." Arthur tenderly touched the soft leather. Their own saddle looked out of place next to the dusty, fading leathers of the older ones. "Hopefully everything will change soon. Bonding will be legalized and the borders will be opened again. We can make this happen again," Arthur said gesturing at the saddles.

Merlin tentatively wrapped his arms around Arthur. "Thank you for this."

Arthur returned the embrace and smiled, "Come on, let's go home."

* * *

The tournament started the next week. Merlin was caught up in the festivities. Most of the events were entertaining watch. He was surprised to see Percy take the prize for the flame throwing contest, sending a stream of fire from his dragon form that enveloped the trees at the far end of the field - over a hundred feet. The fighting events were not as exciting for Merlin as he worried the entire time that one of his new friends among the knights or Arthur would get injured.

Merlin and Will were asked to put on a show with magic. They were the only Drakarin in the city and it had been a long time for most Camelot citizens to see a magic display. Merlin and Will dove excitedly into preparations for their show, taking extra time each morning for meditation and practicing in the afternoon between events. They kept their plans a secret, no matter how much their bondeds asked about it.

Their performance was on the final day of the festival. They used the same large field as the flame throwing contest. The seats of the bleachers were full and the area behind the rope barricades filled with standing spectators. Arthur took his seat in the VIP box. Percy sat beside him, allowed into the box as the bonded of Will. While the crowds built, Merlin and Will meditated in the forests on the other side of the field.

Merlin slid his eyes open and looked up at Will who has standing beside him with a hand on his shoulder. "Ready?"

Merlin grinned, "Let's give them something to remember." Merlin and Will linked hands and stepped out onto the field.

They started with an illusion of the desert. The crowd gasped as an ancient city appeared and the forest behind faded out of view. The story unfolded - the tale of the first bonded pair - Karin and Drake. The lovely desert city began to fade out as a sandstorm approached the city. Will walked up to the illusion sandstorm, playing the role of Karin, attempting to dispel the sandstorm with magic. Merlin created a dragon of flames to play the role of Drake. Drake's wings were unable to combat the fierce sandstorm winds and the dragon crash landed near the sorcerer. Karin struggled to get rid of the sandstorm, only holding it at bay until his magic began to overwhelm him. Drake crawled through the fierce winds to the sorcerer and touched the sorcerer to absorb the magic. With Drake's help, Karin's magic was controlled and the sandstorm sent away. Drake was able to take human form with the magic he absorbed and became the first Drakan.

The crowd cheered in delight as the illusion faded and Merlin and Will stepped up to do a light show of magic and fireworks. Arthur could feel the rise and fall of Merlin's magic as he directed the lights to dance overhead. Merlin grinned at him and Arthur felt the slow build of Merlin's magic ramping up for the finale. The colors burst vividly with color, vibrant booms as the fireworks showered down above them. Merlin was manipulating several bits of energy at once to make the finale happen. Will has making sure the fire didn't come near the people and was sending away any smoke from the flames. Merlin laughed in delight as he worked the magic. His magic was working in the pearly levels now and Merlin daringly pushed a bit more to make the show truly spectacular.

Arthur felt the black pearly magic through the bond. It swirled around Merlin and showered into the colors overhead with iridescence. The last firework exploded overhead and Merlin released the magic to bring it back down. Arthur sighed as he felt the magic downgrade, and then he felt the hitch. And the magic shot back up. Arthur was out of his chair and swinging his leg over the barricade before he knew it. "Oh shit, shit, shit," he cursed as he jumped down. Percy was right behind him, running full out towards the two Drakarin in the field. Will was yelling something at Merlin, who was shaking his head and taking deep gasping breaths to calm himself. The crowd tittered uncertainly, realizing that something was wrong. Percy reached Will first, since Will was standing closer to the crowd. Percy grabbed him and pulled him away back toward the crowd. Will was screaming, "Let it go Merlin! You've got to let it go!"

Merlin shook his head, biting his lip, eyes closed as he concentrated on the magic around him, trying to force it back to his control. Merlin's skin was glowing brightly as he turned nuclear. Will stretched out a hand to Merlin. Percy grabbed his hand, "No, Will!"

Will ignored Percy and yelled, "Alíese!" And then the magic exploded. Arthur reeled at the heat but kept running towards his bond mate, pulling in as much raw energy as he could. Arthur grabbed Merlin with both hands and pulled through the bond as hard as he could, sucking the power into him. Merlin gasped, "Forlæte!"

The magic flooded into Arthur as he held Merlin, who had gone slack in his arms. Arthur sat down with Merlin, letting the energy crash through him. "Not enough contact," Merlin sighed. Arthur yanked off his shirt with one hand and pulled Merlin to his chest. Merlin's arms snaked around Arthur and held onto him tightly, pressing his face against Arthur's skin. He could feel the energy pass between the two of them, raw untamed power from Merlin was traded for calm, white level energy from Arthur.

When Merlin finally calmed down enough for Arthur to focus on something else, he looked around and noticed that the stands were mostly emptied. A few stragglers lingered, including his knights, Will and Percy. Merlin exhaled against Arthur's chest. Arthur felt a wetness against his chest and looked down at Merlin to see the tears. "Shh, it's okay. Don't cry. We knew it was going to happen. We're alright." Arthur rocked him gently.

Merlin gasped out a choked sob and nodded. "Three weeks," he said brokenly, speaking of the amount of time between his Arisan ceremony and the release he had tonight. "Two if you consider the Arisan in Avalon."

"I know. We'll work it out. Find something to do to get rid of the energy. You'll get stronger," Arthur consoled, squeezing his bond mate tightly.

It was a bit more time before the energy stopped flowing between them. It was black on the field except for a light that Will had conjured over by the bleachers. Merlin's eyes slid open in time for Arthur to see the gold fade to lovely deep blue. Merlin hitched a laugh, "Your eyes are gold."

Arthur looked down at him, stunned, "Really?"

"Yeah," Merlin said quietly. The sat for a few more minutes until Arthur's eyes changed back to crystal blue. "Are you alright?" Merlin asked carefully, withdrawing a bit.

Arthur pulled Merlin back to his chest and buried his face in Merlin's hair. "Yes. It is a lot to take in though. I had to give it back, which probably didn't help you much."

Merlin's voice was muffled against his skin, "No, it's alright. I think it actually helped. I don't feel tired like I expected."

Arthur kissed the top of Merlin's head. "Good. And I don't feel as if I've got too much energy." Arthur reluctantly let go of Merlin and pulled his shirt back on. He helped Merlin stand and they walked off the field together, one arm wrapped around each other's back for support and comfort.

Will broke apart from Percy and came over to them. "Thanks, Will," Merlin said gratefully.

"You idiot!" Will burst out. "You know what happens if you don't let it go."

"I know," Merlin said sullenly. "I thought I had it. I thought I could bring it back."

"What did you do Will?" Arthur asked curiously.

"He forced the magic to release externally instead of burning me from within," Merlin answered, smiling gratefully at Will.

"And what would have happened if he didn't do that?" Arthur asked.

Merlin ducked his head like an embarrassed child caught in a lie, "I would have exploded with energy - like a bomb."

Arthur pulled Merlin back into his chest and looked into the sad blue eyes. "You are an idiot," he said fondly.

* * *

After that first release, casual touches between Merlin and Arthur were common. Arthur would slide his hand around Merlin's waist when he came up beside him, or Merlin would curl his arms around Arthur in a hug. As promised, they found an outlet for Merlin's energy at the local hospital, healing the injured and sick. Healing took quite a bit of energy, and Merlin came back each day from the hospital feeling delightfully weary.

One night, instead waiting for Arthur to slide into his bed, Merlin found himself walking down the hall into Arthur's room after he finished his nightly routine. Arthur was sitting up in the center of his bed reading, but slid over for Merlin without complaint or comment. Merlin instantly laid down to sleep. When Arthur switched off the light and curled around him with a heavy arm, Merlin sighed contentedly. Merlin wasn't sure, but being close to each other seemed to comfort both of them.

Arthur loved the feel of Merlin in his arms, in his bed. It felt... right. Like Merlin was the missing piece of a puzzle he had searched for years. Though he enjoyed it, Arthur was starting to build up frustration with the arrangement. Every morning he would wake up with the bed empty beside him - Merlin rising early to meditate before the day started. With winter approaching, it meant that the lack of a body made him cold even though other parts of his body were flushed with heat. And there was nothing worse than having to take a cold shower on a chilly morning to get rid a raging arousal.

The next morning, Arthur refused to relinquish his hold on Merlin when the man tried to slip away. "Arthur," Merlin sighed. "Come on, let go."

Arthur tightened his arms in reply until Merlin shocked him with a kiss on the lips. Arthur froze and relaxed into the kiss. He could feel Merlin's lips smile against his and before he knew it, Merlin's warmth was gone from the bed. "Don't go!" he whined. Merlin laughed and vanished out the door. Arthur sighed, disappointed. Merlin's lips were so soft. He wasn't going to stop kissing the man now that he had the feel for them.

That afternoon he paid Merlin back for the kiss after Merlin returned from the hospital. Normally Merlin hugged him in greeting before heading to the shower, but this day Arthur caught his lips too. Arthur started the kiss off softly, but deepened it as Merlin leaned more heavily against him. Arthur began walking slowly towards the bathroom with their lips still locked in a kiss. When Merlin moaned and broke for air, Arthur shoved him into the shower and turned on the cold water. Merlin yelped and sputtered in shock, drenched in cold water, as Arthur laughed at him on the other side of the glass door.

"Oh, it is on, Arthur Pendrakan," Merlin said in mock furiousness.

"Bring it, Emrys," Arthur replied smugly.

And thus began the battle of willpower over who would break first. They pushed each other, tested each other's limits. Arthur didn't think he ever wanked so much in his life as he did now whenever Merlin left him high and dry after an arousing morning make-out session. Merlin wished he could say it didn't affect him too, but each time he had to either go into his own room and stroke himself or take the coldest shower he possibly could. They continued to tease each other for a couple months, each growing more and more irritated, but unwilling to be the one to breakdown first.

"Do it already," Gwaine frowned at Arthur as he sprawled on the grassy lawn after training, "I don't think my body can take anymore abuse from taking your sexual frustration out on me in training."

Will had similar comments for Merlin when the man failed to meditate for the third morning in a row. "I will lock you in your room with him if you don't stop this right now. Sleep with him - you've both been dancing along the edge of it for months now. You're so wound up that you can't even meditate. If this doesn't stop, you're going to lose control of your magic again."

Merlin nodded, realizing the truth to Will's statement. "Alright."

"Tonight," Will needled, poking Merlin in the side.

"Alright!" Merlin whacked Will's hand away from poking him again.

Once a week, Merlin and Arthur went flying together as Arthur burned the excess energy he collected while sleeping next to the now-very-sexually-frustrated Merlin. And it was after their flight that evening Merlin planned to make his move. They landed in the deserted clearing and placed the saddle on it's rack in the shed. Arthur moved to exit the shed, when Merlin pulled the blond man over to him into a deep kiss. Arthur took control of the kiss and pushed Merlin against the wall while licking Merlin's lips with his tongue for invitation. Merlin opened his mouth to Arthur and their tongues intertwined, stroking and caressing each other.

Merlin hiked one leg around Arthur's hips and rubbed his body wantonly against his bond mate. Arthur groaned into the kiss and broke for air. Arthur breathed heavily into Merlin's ear as the black-haired man made kisses along his throat. Arthur held Merlin tightly and caressed his back and sides. Merlin pulled Arthur into a kiss again as his long fingers dipped under the waistband of Arthur's pants, barely brushing him. Arthur grabbed his hands, stopping him. Merlin whined in frustration. "Not here," Arthur finally breathed out, trying to calm down his flaring body temperature.

Merlin nodded and before Arthur could disengage them, Arthur felt a flare of magic from Merlin as the sorcerer pulled him into another kiss. "Merlin," Arthur said sternly.

"What?" Merlin said breathlessly as he kissed Arthur's ear, "We're not in the shed anymore."

Arthur looked around in shock to see his familiar chambers. "Merlin," Arthur growled, pulling him into another kiss as he backed Merlin up to the bed.

Merlin grinned, "I've always been an impatient person." Merlin pulled his shirt off before he fell down onto the luxurious bed.

"I would disagree with that," Arthur said, kissing down Merlin's chest following the path of the bond mark from the dragon head over Merlin's heart, down his side and then down past his belly-button. The mark disappeared tantalizingly beneath Merlin's pants. "Stubborn, yes. Impatient, only when it doesn't align with the stubbornness."

Merlin slid his hands under Arthur shirt and pulled it off. It didn't take long for the rest of their clothes to disappear. Arthur later couldn't recall whether they were actually removed or Merlin vanished them. Merlin, of course, denied any use of magic, except for the strong release that came with overwhelming pleasure.

"I think I prefer getting rid of energy that way," Merlin said in a post-orgasmic haze.

Arthur pulled Merlin close against him and stroked Merlin's side where the bond mark lay as he kissed the dragon's head over Merlin's heart. "It definitely has its benefits."


	3. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Minor Character Death/Terminal Illness

The new set of peace treaties were finalized a week later. The treaties included the new Drakan law legalizing bonding and offering protection to all Drakarin bonded and followers of the Old Religion. Merlin and Arthur together spent numerous hours pouring over the legislation and making their own changes to the revision the council and Uther gave them. It was a fierce battle for some of the proposed changes, but after many circular debates the law was finalized. Balinor was sent a copy of the treaty. Merlin was surprised that instead of Balinor signing the treaty, his father gave his blessing and authority to Merlin to sign on behalf of the Drakarin people.

With the treaty signed and instated, the borders of Drakan were officially reopened to Drakarin. Merlin decided that it was necessary to organize both a Bonded Ball and a Bonding mixer. The first was open to any bonded pairs who had taken refuge in Drakarin lands. The ball was an official recognition from Uther of the bonded pairs. The second event, to be held in the coming spring was a mixer for coming of age Drakarin, level blue and higher, to meet with younger generation Drakans.

Merlin and Arthur watched the arrivals of the bonded pairs for the midwinter Bonded Ball from their tower spot. Arthur was surprised at the turn-out for the event as bonded pairs around the world flocked to Camelot. "We did it," Arthur said into his ear.

Merlin leaned back into Arthur's chest and sighed happily as he watched another hover bus of people unload. "Yes, I suppose we did."

Instead of hosting the ball inside, Merlin transformed the nearby woods to a winter wonderland with ice sculptures and ice buildings. Merlin was still transfixed by the weather phenomena of snow. When the first snow fell on the city, Merlin came running to Arthur like an excitable child, begging Arthur to go outside with him. Arthur had never enjoyed winter as he did now through Merlin's eyes. It was still a heavy topic of debate over who had the advantage in snowball fights: Merlin, who could throw snow by magic, or Arthur, who melt all the snowballs Merlin tossed as well as melt the walls of any snow fort Merlin built for protection. The battle lines for snowball wars were clearly drawn with Merlin, Will, Gwaine, and Percy against Arthur, Lancelot, Leon, and Elyan. Many days of training were suspended in lieu of epic snow battles.

Merlin drafted Will for event planning, who complained the entire time about the job, especially as Will managed the registration table for the event. It was too confusing to keep straight which bonded pairs wanted to share a room and who needed separate space. All participants in the ball were being hosted at the elegant Rising Sun Hotel at the Pendrakan's expense. Uther wasn't too happy about the set-up, but a condition of the treaty placed the Drakan crown financially responsible 'as recompense to all bonded pairs.' Merlin privately congratulated himself for slyly adding that line into the document. Arthur huffed about it for half an hour, but agreed it was the honorable thing for the Pendrakan family. The Bonded Ball was a huge success. Merlin and Arthur were surprised at the number of pairs that turned out for the event - mostly younger people who bonded during the years it was banned. Many pairs chose to move to Camelot permanently after the event.

Merlin sent Balinor and Kilgarrah's saddle to Ealdor after the Bonded Ball with a group returning back to the desert city. Many pairs and expressed interest in getting their own saddles and Merlin was excited by the thought of the saddle shed filled once again. Balinor sent Merlin a message a few days later expressing his gratitude at his son's thoughtfulness. Merlin joked with his father that he wasn't sure two old men would be able to use it, but he wanted Balinor to have it. Balinor, not to be beaten by his son, challenged him and Arthur to a race the next time they were in Ealdor.

A big change for the city of Camelot from the treaty was the restoration of the Old Religion temple. The treaty reinstated Camelot as the home base for the third High Priestess of the Triple goddess. When Merlin heard the rumors that the High Priestess arrived, he set out to the temple to introduce himself. Morgana laughed for a minute at the shocked expression on his face when she stepped out to greet him in the traditional robes. "I'm expecting a nice circle of crystals too," she called to his retreating form as he left.

Merlin chuckled and shook his head. "We'll see."

With the newest treaty and bonding between Merlin and Arthur, Draka was upgraded to a Class 2 planet - politically stable and developing. The space docking station of Essetir was reopened for tourism and commerce between Draka and other worlds. Arthur and Merlin were the ones to cut the red tape when the space station reopened. The station was to be run by the bonded pair Cenred and Morgause. Cenred's family had previously operated the station, though it had fallen largely to disuse while the planet was closed off to space travel. Merlin surprised Arthur with his ability to teleport straight to Essetir rather than take the transport ship. Merlin grinned and told him it was one of the perks of having strong magic. All other Drakarin were not strong enough to teleport to the station and traveled in the transport ship as well.

Five months passed since the Alíese he had experienced after the magic display at the festival. During that time, Merlin's magic had found an outlet through sex - at first, at his own hands during the battle of wills, and now though his times with Arthur. Arthur found the energy absorbed through sex to be much more invigorating than when absorbed while Merlin dreamed, and as a result, the pair increased their flights to twice a week.

During the day, Arthur and Merlin were separate - Arthur attending to his duties as prince and training the knights while Merlin worked healing magic at the hospital and attended to his duties as Drakarin from afar through communications with his father. At first Merlin was simply a volunteer at the hospital, but shortly after he started, the hospital offered him a full time position as a Master Healer. Will accompanied him the the hospital now, doing what he could as a blue level to heal. Merlin was happy to have Will with him, even though most days Will showed up late, sometimes right before lunch, but Will always stayed the afternoon and left with Merlin. Merlin suspected it was because Arthur had Percy on a rotation that started at noon and lasted until dinner.

Merlin asked Arthur once why training was so regimented - there was no war and the planet was relatively peaceful now. "I suppose it's good to be prepared. You know - just in case. You never know. Plus it's not like the Drakarin are defenseless either even though there's no standing army."

Merlin found healing to be difficult work. Most magic drained very little of the castor's physical energy, but healing was different. The Old Religion demanded sacrifice for healing - so healers gave a bit of themselves - their own physical energy - with every spell. Merlin knew that he needed to develop spells at his own level, and so Merlin began to experiment with black pearl level healing spells, knowing the risk to himself if they should fail.

Morgana and Will understood the need to create his own spells - something to put his magic to use. Arthur was not as easy to convince. "What happens if it goes wrong? If the spell takes too much? The Old Religion is harsh, Merlin, I know - life for a life. It took my mother. And what if it asks for you in return?"

"I'll be careful," Merlin dismissed Arthur's fears.

Arthur frowned at the man in his arms. He pulled Merlin in close and touched his forehead to Merlin's, staring deep into his eyes. "I can't lose you," Arthur whispered fiercely. "I know you are strong, but promise me you won't risk yourself for a life that can't be saved."

"I won't," Merlin promised. But it was much easy to speak the promise than to live it out, especially when faced with a young girl dying of an incurable rare Drakan disease. Freya was a bright young girl who changed into a lovely russet brown dragon. She was sixteen years old when she first walked into the hospital. The doctors diagnosed her and turned her over to Merlin, knowing that medicine could not do much for the child, but magic might be able to help. And so Freya had walked into Merlin's office at the hospital.

Freya suffered from Drakan Bastet, which manifested itself in early stages by making the transformation painful. In later stages, the disease caused disfiguration of the Drakan form, forced shifts, and intense pain. The disease ate away at the Drakan body. The final stage of the disease was when it reached the brain and forced the shift, debasing the brian's functions to no more than a rabid animal. Usually the patient died of the disease affecting the brain within a few days.

Merlin was instantly captivated by the young girl and watched hopelessly as the disease ravaged through her body. He kept her comfortable and pain free as possible as he attempted to develop a spell to reverse the disease. Within three weeks of first appearing in Merlin's office, Freya was hospitalized permanently in the children's ward to watch the progress of the disease. In between episodes, Freya was a darling. She spoke of her plans for life - she wanted to travel to Ealdor, see the glowing city of Avalon, walk the mazes of Gedref, shop at the new galactic mall on the Essetir space station.

"You're not scared of me?" Freya asked quietly after another episode.

"Being different is nothing to be scared of," Merlin told her as he held her hand and took away her pain. After she fell asleep, her body giving way to exhaustion, Merlin looked at her sadly, "There must be something I can do, some way to save you."

A few weeks later Merlin arrived at work looking forward to having a nice afternoon chat with Freya while she was awake. Maybe they would play a card game or two.

When he walked into the clinic that morning, he hadn't planned to try the spell. He was actually feeling quite lazy and worn-out in a pleasant way. Arthur and he had been up all night, showing their love for each other multiple times, in several positions, slow and fast, soft and hard. He arrived at the hospital wanting nothing more than to sit at his desk and drink coffee for the first two hours before he ever saw any patients. He keyed open his office door to find a message for him, along with a full diagnosis report. Apparently, last night while he and Arthur had enjoyed each other, Freya had a relapse that suggested her disease had progressed to the next stage. She was moved from the children's ward to the containment ward in case she had another episode of a forced shift accompanied by madness.

A quick stop at the children's ward revealed how violent the episode was - the hospital staff was still cleaning up debris. Merlin's heart sunk deep into his chest. This was it, the clock was ticking for Freya. It might be hours or it could be a few days, but the disease had advanced too far and Merlin wasn't ready for the magic. He could only keep her comfortable now. But when he walked into Freya's solitary room, he saw the scared, lonely girl sleeping. Merlin's heart broke for her and he knew he would never forgive himself if he didn't try.

Arthur was in the middle of knight training when he felt Merlin's magic rise across the city. He paused for a moment to make sure it was controlled and stable before he turned back to training. He turned back to training, keeping a small amount of attention focused on the bond. When he broke for lunch, Arthur was surprised that he could still feel Merlin using magic at his pearly black level. It had been a couple hours at least since he first felt it rise. His men headed to the armory first to drop off their gear before going to the dining hall. Uther had banned weapons in the dining hall years ago. Arthur reached into his bag and pulled out his handheld communicator. Three messages from Will. 'Arthur, you need to come to the hospital ASAP.' 'Where the fuck are you? Merlin's gone crazy.' The third message was a voice message left a half hour before. Will sounded tired and hopeless, worn out, simply saying, "Please please come. I don't know how much longer he'll last."

Arthur was running. The hospital was on the other side of the city. For the first time, Arthur wished he had some magic of his own so he could teleport like Merlin. The only thing Arthur could do was fly. Fly. And as soon as Arthur left the the castle, he shifted, barely clearing the wall as he darted towards the hospital. He landed on the roof's transport pad and, not pausing to wait for the lift, dashed down the stairs to Merlin's office. His bond mate's office was empty. Arthur ran his hands through his hair as he paced the office and waited for Will to answer.

"Thank fuck," Will said. "Where have you been?"

"Training," Arthur said tersely, "Doesn't matter. Where are you now?" Arthur ran as Will gave him instructions on how to reach the containment ward. The sight that greeted him was not one that Arthur expected. Will was pacing in frustration, yelling loudly. Merlin was sitting beside the bed of a young girl - Freya, Arthur's mind recalled, remembering how Merlin had mentioned her more than once. Both Freya and Merlin were still. So still, but Arthur could feel Merlin's magic humming across the bond. From Will's agitation, he knew something was wrong, but he wasn't quite sure what it was.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked, feeling stupid.

Will looked up at him, "He's been like this for hours. I only arrived an hour ago, but the doctors told me. Stupid Drakan doctors, not understanding what he's doing."

"And what is he doing?" Arthur asked uncertainly, not wanting to prove Will correct, but having no other option.

Will pointed an accusing finger at Merlin, quietly sitting in a chair beside the bed, eyes closed peacefully. "He's killing himself. And he won't listen to anything I say!" The last part was shouted, ending with a half sob, and Will leant back against the wall and sunk down to the floor. "She's dying, Arthur. Drakan Bastet. And Merlin won't accept that, couldn't accept that. She hit the final stage last night. Went mad. Merlin's trying to save something that can't be saved. The Old Religion won't allow it. All he's doing is tying himself to her fate."

"How do we stop him?" Arthur asked brokenly.

"He's deep in meditation. Only him and his magic down there. I can't reach him. I tried punching him, but well, it didn't work and I didn't want to hurt him. He has to cut the magic. He's been casting for far too long at the his level. I can't even feel the magic anymore."

"I can."

"I know. And that's why you can still reach him, Arthur. Your bond is strong. Bring him back. Please. He's my best mate - more than that - we're brothers."

Arthur nodded, "I won't let anything happen to him. I love him too." It was the first time Arthur said those words aloud, but as he spoke them, he realized the truth resounding in them.

Arthur walked up to Merlin and laid his hands on Merlin's shoulders, calling his name, asking him to come back.

"S'not enough," Will said quietly, "You have to reach him where he is now, not wait for him to come back to us. Use the bond."

"I don't know how," Arthur said, very scared that he wouldn't be able to do this.

"Find the bond and trace it back to him. I can't tell you more than that. Every bond is different," Will said urgently.

Arthur nodded and took a deep breath. He kneeled down beside Merlin's chair, twining his fingers with Merlin's before closing his eyes and reaching for the bond. The magic recognized him instantly and Arthur sunk down into it, reaching through the bond to Merlin. Finally he realized the he was in Merlin's head.

 _'Merlin?'_  Arthur thought tentatively.

 _'Arthur,'_  Merlin replied, with a small hint of surprise.

 _'What are you doing, Merlin?'_ he asked softly.

_'I have to save her. She doesn't deserve this.'_

_'There are some people you can't save.'_

_'But I can. Let me try. I need more time.'_

Arthur sighed. Merlin could hear it through the bond in his head. ' _You've been in this state for four hours,'_  Arthur said.

 _'Four?'_  Merlin said finally, uncertain.

_'Yes. It's time to come back. You promised Merlin.'_

Merlin's breath hitched. ' _I'm sorry Arthur,'_  he said sadly, ' _I had to try.'_

_'I know. You have a big heart, Merlin. I love you for it. But you have to let go now.'_

Merlin's heart pounded fiercely as Arthur told him he loved him. Arthur felt the magic go down as Merlin cut off the spell, and the magic was drawn back into Merlin, somewhere deeper than this place he had found to speak with the warlock inside their minds. Back in the real world, he heard Freya's heart monitor stutter as the magic was withdrawn. ' _It's alright_ ,' Arthur said before he sank back to his own body.

Merlin's liquid gold eyes opened to stare directly at Arthur. Merlin collapsed in his arms on the floor sobbing. Around them Arthur could hear the motion of doctors and nurses. He pulled Merlin away and wrapped his lover in his arms. He felt a third set of arms join them as Will hugged Merlin too. Arthur had long wondered how Will and Merlin were friends - they were so different - but his heart warmed with gratitude at the simple action of his bonded's best friend.

They went back to the castle. Arthur held Merlin as he cried into his chest all night. Word came in the morning that Freya passed away early that morning during a second episode when her heart gave out. Merlin's devastation seemed to darken the entire castle. He wormed his way so thoroughly into everyone's heart. The Drakarini didn't leave Arthur's bed for a week except to attend Freya's funeral. He tried to give Merlin time, but Merlin wasn't doing anything to get over Freya's death. He would cry for hours, then rant about the unfairness of it all for another, cry more, and then yell about how his magic was pointless. Comfort sex didn't seem to be motivating Merlin either. Will confessed that Merlin had skipped meditation every day that week. Arthur knew it couldn't continue any longer.

"Get up."

Merlin looked at him warily before rolling over and burying his head in a pillow. Arthur pulled the covers off and Merlin whined incomprehensibly as he searched for the covers with a hand without looking. Arthur grabbed a flailing arm and slowly pulled Merlin out of the bed. Merlin caught himself with one arm and glared up at Arthur. "What?" Merlin snipped.

"We're going on holiday. Will's already packed your things. The hover vehicle is waiting. Let's go." Arthur's tone left no room for funny business.

Merlin sighed and nodded, climbing out of bed before sulkily following his bond mate. And he continued to sulk the entire trip, not looking at Arthur, but staring out the window instead watching the land roll by. They were heading after north, Merlin noted absently. He didn't know how long the trip would be and he was so tired, and Merlin drifted off quietly leaning against the window.

He felt strong arms lift him from his seat. "Arthur," Merlin mumbled in a daze, burying his head into the chest. Arthur chuckled as he carried Merlin. Merlin shivered with cold and tried to move closer to Arthur for warmth. The cold was replaced with hot air and the sound of a crackling fire. Arthur deposited Merlin on soft bed after passing through a few more doorways. "Where are we?" Merlin asked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He looked around the room. They were in an extravagant stone and wood cabin.

"Ismere."

Ismere was a famous ski resort in the northern Drakan lands. It was famous across the worlds for its beautiful peaks and year round snow. The main resort was a stunning castle against the white landscape. "Doesn't look like a castle," Merlin said.

"That's because we're in the private royal cabin," Arthur said witheringly. Honestly, Merlin was behaving like a child. Arthur's patience was wearing thin. But Arthur knew Merlin, and the man's curiosity would win out soon to get him out of bed.

Merlin refused dinner and went back to sleep. The next morning, Merlin refused when Arthur asked if he wanted to hit the slopes. Arthur shrugged and left Merlin alone in the cabin. Fine, Merlin though viscously, he didn't know how to ski anyway since he had grown up in the desert. He vaguely wondered if Arthur had forgotten that detail. As he sat around the cabin, alone and bored, Merlin continued to stare out the windows at the smooth crystal snow. It took a couple hours to succumb to the temptation. Arthur came back mid afternoon to find the area around the cabin transformed with igloos, snow angels, a snowman with a remarkable likeness to himself, as well as other crazy snow sculptures. Arthur grinned. He found Merlin in the back of the cabin, working on a huge snow dragon, resolutely trying to get the snow wings to stay put and not slide off.

"What are you working on?" Arthur asked rhetorically to announce his presence.

"I'm naming this one 'Pratdragon'," Merlin said in a self-satisfied voice.

Arthur chucked. Merlin firmly patted the wings down into place. "How about lunch?"

"Sounds great. I'm famished," Merlin said and hopped down from the ladder he was using to reach the top of the dragon's back. Arthur wondered if he found the ladder or simply conjured it. As he and Arthur set off around the cabin, the sound of something falling made Merlin pause and turn around. The large wing had broken off and was in a pile of snow beside the sculpture. It made a dent in the dragon's side as it went. Merlin cursed and kicked the snow. Arthur laughed the entire way to the Ismere castle for lunch.

The week flew by in a blur. Arthur taught Merlin how to ski, but after Merlin's eyes alighted on the boards, he couldn't be swayed back to the skis. And when Merlin turned out to be a pro with the snowboard, Arthur gave up and returned the skis he bought for Merlin. "It's just like sand boarding!" Merlin laughed delightedly as he sped by Arthur heading down the slope. Merlin found a particular thrill with the dog sleds around Ismere and Arthur quickly distracted him before Merlin could beg to take one home. The vacation served it's purpose to take Merlin's mind off darker things. On the final day of the trip, Merlin quietly stalked Arthur into their bedroom and backed him up against the bed, kissing him languidly. While the kiss started out slow, it built to a feverish level. The men groaned against each other and panted heavily. Merlin vanished their clothing grinning slyly down at Arthur as he ground down with slow, wicked movements. Arthur moaned into Merlin's mouth and let Merlin pleasure him. ' _I love you too, Arthur Pendrakan,'_  Arthur heard in his mind as Merlin sunk down on him with a soft sigh.

Merlin's mind was in a much better place when they returned to Camelot and life resumed again. Merlin cut back on his hours at the hospital, choosing instead to spend more time with Arthur. "We're both heirs," he said one day, fingers dancing on Arthur's chest, as they lounged in bed after a particularly satisfying round of rough sex.

"Yes..." Arthur agreed, uncertain where Merlin was going with this.

"What do we do when we must take our thrones?"

Arthur sighed through his nose. He avoided thinking about this for a long time. "Then we take the throne."

"But if I have to go back to Ealdor... and you have to be here..." Merlin trailed off, his fingers stilling on Arthur's skin.

Arthur kissed him slowly. "We'll make Camelot our summer home and Ealdor our home in the winter."

Merlin smiled at him as if sharing a secret, "My home is wherever you are."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and commenting. Please give me a shout out if you want more. Or if you want certain scenes in particular...
> 
> Thanks to my initial commenters: Monica,Mmang, Miraculous, AHaresBreath, AuroraLunaSoliel, mpoumpouka, Buffythefluffy, rachelautumn. Hope you guys liked it through the end. :)


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